Waching
by Elenelathuin
Summary: very funny, read it: So basically Millie and Emma somehow get dragged off to Arda, LOTR land! Now they have to fight vamps, not fall in love with every hansom elf they meet oh and Millie has to get Emma to swear properly:
1. feth, hansom elves and stupid magic E&C

(so here's the basic I own no one I didn't make up-so I only really own Emma, Naithan etc. and Celest owns Millie, which brings me on to point two, some of this was written with Celest-I'll put an E&C on the chapter title so you know! um yeah thats abotu it no majour evil/sex etc. just plain humour and a little romance...oh and a load of elves and vampires obviously...enjoy!)

"Would you ever risk your life to save your friend?" Asked Emma, reading from the magazine, before putting another Malteaser from the bowl into her mouth.

"I don't know." Said Millie, thoughtfully. "Maybe." She added popping a Malteaser into her mouth. "But probably not, so put me down as a no."

"Final question:" continued Emma, "would you ever kill someone for borrowing your socks?"

"Yes." She replied, simply. "How'd I do?"

"Well," said Emma, totting up the scores, "you're definitely on the side of evil. Aha! 'You are Sauron, the great destroyer of Middle-Earth. You need no friends, only minions to do your bidding, and feel comfortable stealing lollies from little children.'"

"Hey, it's got me down to a t!" Emma laughed.

"Right, so you're Sauron and I am Eowyn. I really don't think we should even bother with these quizzes. You always end up as an evil dictator kind of person, and I am some crap person who's half and half."

"That's not true. You were Ron, in Harry Potter. Plus - Eowyn isn't half and half."

Emma glared at her and sat up on the bed, crossing her legs, still the with magazine in her hands. "Ok then some crappy character that's just annoying, plus I'm the one who actually read the books."

"Yeah, well I saw the films, and have four posters of Orlando Bloom plastered on my wall."

"Yeah, but it's knowledge from the book that counts when trying to prove a point."

"Fine, you keep your book, and I'll grab Orli when he arrives!" They both began to laugh, but were silenced when a call came from downstairs. "Yeah, mum!" Called Millie back.

"What?" Asked Emma.

"Do you want pizza?"

"Ooh, yeah!"

"Good. Now listen," continued Millie, "about the thing tonight. If you say this, then I can do the hand thing, and then it should work." She passé

Emma a piece of paper she had just been writing on.

Studying the paper, Emma replied. "Are you sure this will work?"

"No, but what's the worst that could happen? All we are doing is conjuring me a sword, and making your hair longer. Soz, by the way, I can't find anything on colour changing."

"Millie, there's something really disconcerting when you say what's the worst that could happen, because I still remember what happened with that frog, when you tried to make it bigger."

"What! It got bigger, didn't it? Well, its arse did at any rate. Anyway, who cares? It wasn't much of a life for the poor thing anyway."

"Yeah, but it never had to carry it's arse around on its back to move, did it?" There was a slight pause when they turned to the t.v. to see what was going on. "Ooh, ooh! I love this bit." Millie put the sound up and watched as Emma mimed the words as they were spoken.

"Look, it's a good line, I'll give you that. But no where near as good as. 'By the blood of my people are your lands kept safe.'"

"Yeah, but that's a classic."

"'Jesus, Ned, they've arrested ma! They're takin' her to the cells and chargin' her with attempted murder.' That one's pretty cool, too."

"Not seen the film."

"Well, you should. Really cool. Ned Kelly comes out on video…ok, so I don't know when, but watch it when it comes out."

"The lights are off in the hall. Your mum and dad must be asleep. Shall we start."

"Ok, you ready?" asked Millie.

"No."

"Then let's begin." Emma still looked slightly worried so she continued; "Come on nothing can go wrong."

"'Pantomime standing order number 32, paragraph 2 subsection B; when so ever a character in a pantomime says; 'Nothing can go wrong', things shall henceforth turn pear-shaped in a major way.'"

"What the hell was that?"

"Oh just something I had to learn for a panto' years ago, but it's true you know, need I remind you of the frog?"

"Need I remind you that we're not in a panto', come on lets just get on with it."

Emma looked at the piece of paper and then at her friend who sat cross- legged on the floor in front of several set out candles, and then joined her friend. "Not long till we're off to uni." She said. Millie looked at her, and then back at the hoard that lay affront them. "Not long till we're off to uni." Repeated Emma, a little louder than before.

"What do you want? A round of applause?"

"No, no. I just meant, that soon we'll be off to uni and then…well…that's it, isn't it. Work and then death."

"Not very morbid, are you?" Millie answered sarcastically. "Look, we've got ages till then, and then after so what? We do some work, have a little fun, do a little dance, make a little love, and practically get down tonight!" She ended, grinning.

"Millie - don't you find it annoying that we are only here to work and let other people work?"

"Yes, it is annoying. But unless we do something weird, like this spell thing that I spend the last three hours researching, checking and re- checking, then it will be annoying till we die." There was a pause.

"Now whose the morbid one?" They both smiled, but then lit the candles. Emma looked at the piece of paper and began to read.

"With the sun that's above us,

With the earth that's below,

We ask for something out there

To give us the energy and to glow.

Abraxas we implore you,

To transfer to us your powers

Even for a short while,

Just to while away the hours."

Here, Emma paused and looked at her friend who continued motioning with her hands, but glared back. "You know," she said, "even though you write poetry, you suck at making spells."

"Shut the fk up, Emma. You're spoiling the mood." Millie continued waving her hands over the candles, and so Emma continued.

"Allow us to bewitch the mind

Allow us to befuddle the senses

Allow us to brew fame and glory

Please give us power, mighty Abraxas".

"You see, that bit there doesn't even rhyme! And you stole it all from Harry Potter!"

"Emma!"

"Abraxas we implore you,

To transfer to us your powers

Even for a short while,

Just to while away the hours.

Give us pointed ears with powers true,

Long hair with quick sight and strength,

The intelligence to know thine enemy

Skill to go the length"

"Ooh, I like that bit, 'cept the last line…hey, you cut straight to the chorus again!"

"It's not a song."

"Abraxas we implore you,

To transfer to us your powers

Even for a short while,

Just to while away the hours.

By the blood of our past people,

The lands of yours are kept safe

We ask to borrow this power

And please, with all haste.

Abraxas we implore you,

To transfer to us your powers

Even for a short while,

Just to while away the hours.

May this spell not reverse,

Nor place upon us any curse."

"Nothing's happening, Millie." Whispered Emma after silence had entered the room for some time.

"I know. I don't think your comments every five minutes helped. Do you think we should do it again?"

"Hell, no. I'm not reading that again. You stole most of it from Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings...what would Boromir say?" Emma paused for a moment in mock concern, but then they both started laughing.

"Well, that sucked." Laughed Millie, turning the lights on in the room, and blowing out the candles. "Want to watch a film? I suggest..."

"Lord Of The Rings?"

"What a coincidence! Our most frequent fancy!"

"Wouldn't it be cool if we were there?"

"You mean if you were Eowyn and could flirt with Aragorn or Faramir, and had Eomer for a brother?"

"Hey, you wouldn't exactly lose out on much; Sauron!"

"Mwahahahaha!" The both sat down laughing and looked round the room at the posters on the walls.

"Seriously, Millie. What were you thinking? By the blood of our past people, the lands of yours are kept safe! And you are supposed to be the one good at grammar! What would Boromir say?"

"How about my name's really Sean Bean?" They both laughed, but almost as soon as her sentence had been finished, the room began to fill with wind. Millie and Emma both jumped up and looked at each other from across the bed. "What the fuck!" Exclaimed Millie.

"What the hell! Look!" She pointed at Millie, whose clothes were changing before her eyes. Instead of looking at herself, however, Millie was busy looking at Emma.

"Look!" Both girls stared as their clothes morphed and changed into green and pale grey travelling clothes not unlike those worn by LOTR characters.

"Wow maybe your spell worked a little after all." Emma said her voice filled with awe and wonder. Before either could say another word the world began to spin and the girls felt as if they were being drawn into a black- hole, or at least felt as if they were being stretched and pulled through space and time, which in fact they were.

* * *

An immeasurable time later, or perhaps earlier, the spinning stopped. The girls looked around them "What the fuck?" Millie asked as her eyes took in the forest scenery around the pair. 

Emma opened and closed her mouth a few times before finally saying; "Blerr?" In a small voice.

"Emma, if you don't have anything useful to say don't say anything at all."

"Well, I think under the circumstances that blerr is a very useful thing to say."

"Ok so say something more useful, like where the hell are we?"

"Oh so just 'cos I'm the nature nut I should be able to work out where we are. Just look at the types of plants and birds and what side of the tree trunks the moss grows on and." Emma said her voice getting steadily higher and higher as panic filled her.

"Actually I think it grows all the way round." Millie said calmly, somehow nothing seemed to affect her. "Also, when I said say where the hell are we, I meant literally say where the hell we are."

"So now I have to do it just from animal and plant types!"

"Emma calm down."

"You're the one who said I had to say something; I was fine saying nothing and being scared in silence. Ok so I have no idea where we are or even when we are."

"When we are?" Millie asked her face turning from concern to humour, "Sounds like some sci-fi film."

"Well maybe it is; I mean the last thing I remember was being in your room and our clothes just changing…and then we turned up here." She answered looking at the forest around her.

"What if it's not sci-fi, what if it's fantasy?"

"Fantasy?"

"Hmm," Millie replied with a nod, "You know, maybe our spell worked, but not exactly as we planned it to."

"You mean instead of getting you a sword and making us kinda more elven it, well sucked us out of your room and spat us out here, wherever the hell here is."

"Well, no, I didn't mean that at all. But hey, that's as good as 'it's that frog getting its own back.'"

Before they could comment further the pair heard the sound of horses hooves pounding through the undergrowth; "What the hell is that?" Emma asked.

"Um, horses?"

"Well yes ok then, who the hell is that?"

Before Millie could respond three pure white horses appeared, upon the beast's backs where three rather tall and rather hansom men. Emma and Millie stared as they approached, all three looked very similar to Lord of the Rings' elves and the one in the centre looked strangely familiar.

"Pusta i nar tye ar mana ni nar car sinomë."

Both girls gaped at the now halted horses and their riders, each of the very elven men had a quiver of arrows at their backs and as the leader spoke his companions took bows from their saddles and aimed their arrows at the girls.

"Dude! They're hot!" Millie whispered.

"They're going to kill us!" Emma whispered back, her voice again filled with panic, "And what the hell kind of a language is he speaking?"

"Ata, ni quet vanya vendëi; i nar le ar nana car le mer sinomë i nóvë en nya atar"

"Wow."

"Yes wow, they are so..."

"I'm not wowing because of cuteness."

"Your not? Oh yes, I forgot you like Aragorn and crap like that for a second there."

"No I don't, I like Jensen Ackles but anyway I'm wowing because atar is father in quenya! Or possibly Sindarin or whatever the hell it is. Plus I think I recognise Sinomë or whatever he said, isn't that here, or there, or…"

"Emma get to the point, you mean he's speaking in elven?"

"Yes!" Then Emma turned to the men who appeared to be giving them quite strange looks; "Um, elen silya lumenn omentielvo."

"Corelia!" Millie added, staring at the rider.

"Millie!" Emma hissed, angrily.

"What? Like I would ever sit down and learn another bloody language. I only just packed in French! Besides, I only know the bad words, and 'shut up' is about the nicest of them. Would you rather I told him to fk an orc?"

"Auta miqula orch!"

"You see; we only bothered to leant that sort of thing."

Emma gave up with a sigh and turned back to the elves who were watching the girls with amusement; "Um, im Emma ar, um what the hell was 'she'?"

"Like I know." Millie replied who was enjoying watching Emma's attempt at quenya.

"Oh well, she's Millie, im edan, or is it ve-edan? Um….um."

"Run out of elven yet?"

"Well I could tell him he's a fool, smells like a human, is stupid, a cowardly dog…"

"I'll do that if you really want me to?" Emma stared blankly at her. "Fine, give me a go." She watched as her friend stepped up towards the riders. "Do you speak the common tongue?" She said, staring at them.

"Of course, there are few who do not these days." The leader of the archers replied. Emma raised an eyebrow.

"He could have said." She muttered but the man merely laughed.

"It was more fun to hear your attempt at our language."

"A eru! Did you hear that? He's an elf!" Said Emma in disbelief, turning to Millie.

"Emma, one of these days you really must learn how to swear properly." Her friend replied, tiredly, rubbing her eyes.

"I swear!"

"In English maybe."

"When in Rome…"

"We're not in Rome."

"Excuse me?" The pair turned to see that the elf had dismounted, "But from your attempt at quenya I assume that you are Emma and Millie. Tell me, what business do you have in my father's lands?"

"You see I said atar is father in quenya!"

"Very good, you've won a million pounds!" Millie replied, sarcastically, before turning to the elves; "We are travelling to Rivendell to meet with Lord Elrond." Emma looked as if she was about to say something but Millie quickly kicked her into silence.

"We are also travelling to Rivendell, there is a council meeting there which we must attend, will you travel with us?"

"Of course, but we have no fine horses as you do."

"Rocco!" Emma whispered glad to know at least one bit of elven that was not an insult.

"Our horses can carry you."

Millie grinned "Thank you." Then turned quickly to Emma whispering excitedly; "We're going riding with the hottest elves in the world!"

Emma smiled but suddenly felt slightly worried, it appeared that the pair were somehow in a forest with a group of elves who were travelling to a mythical place she had only heard of in a book, oh and a film and a song or two, but that wasn't the point, the point was that it was impossible. But on the plus side she thought she had some idea as to who the elf was; "Um, excuse me but you did not tell us your name."

The elf smiled; "I am Legolas Greenleaf of Mirkwood, this forest is the realm of my father king Thranduil."

Both girls grinned at this, Legolas had always been one of the pair's favourite characters from the film, but hearing his name seamed to reinforce the impossibility of the whole thing. Maybe it's just a dream, Emma told herself and decided to enjoy it whilst it lasted.

"Dude - nice!" Said Millie, with a huge grin on her face, looking the elven prince up and down. He laughed a little at the attention.

"Millie, get over it."

"Shut up, Emma, he's hot. Plus, he's probably got one of the hottest arse's of the century." She turned back to Legolas before speaking again. "So, you're an elf, huh? How's that working out for you? Ow!" She added, as Emma elbowed her in the stomach. Legolas furrowed his brow.

"Working out for me?" He asked, but before Millie could answer Emma stepped forward.

"What my estranged friend is trying to say is, are you sure you would not mind taking us as far as Rivendell? We must speak with Elrond."

"Elrond? I did not know that many humans referred to him without his title." Legolas ventured.

"A…uh…um...bah…human? What?" Emma mumbled incoherently whilst Legolas looked around, confused, for help.

"What my estranged friend is trying to say is that although we are human, which we are, by the way, Emma, we can call him Elrond." At this Legolas laughed. "What's so funny?"

"You are not human, my lady."

"What?" Millie said, a look of disgust on her face. Emma looked at her friend and laughed.

"It's true!" She said, "Oh, that's not fair, I wanna be an elf!"

"What?" Said Millie again, in disbelief. There was a long pause, before Emma spoke.

"Feth, just get over it. You're an elf, at least you're not a human." (for those that wish to know Feth is a tanith tree god and has similar meaning in Gaunt's Ghosts to 'A eru' and 'Oh my God')

"Shut up, you're just jealous that you aren't an elf."

"And you're just jealous you're…"

"I'm just jealous about what?"

"Oh, auta miqula orqu!" (Go kiss an orc in quenya or some other variation of the elven language)

"And a fuck you too!"

"Dear ladies," Said Legolas, "Forgive my impertinence but whatever the case I feel we must away. Though the harshest of times appear to be over; one does not know exactly what remains to lurk in the abouts."

"You'd be surprised." Emma whispered stepping slowly forwards towards the elves.

"Is there a problem with your friend?" Legolas asked her.

Emma turned to see Millie staring at the handsome elf a questioning look on her face.

"Oh she's fine. Hey Millie snap out of it!"

"What the fuck was he on about? I think I blanked off after 'dear ladies'!"

"Grow up, shut up and come on Millie!" Emma said before turning back to face the elven riders, to which she got the response, "Fk you!" from her friend.

"Dude does that guy like ever smile?" Joked Millie to Legolas whilst looking at one of the other riders.

Legolas smiled and helped her onto his horse; "He is one of my father's men. So no."

"Then he's most like Emma." Millie laughed then looked down at her friend who was mounting the remaining elf's horse. "Hey Emma, need a hand?" She called.

"I haven't been near a horse in years!" Emma laughed as the elf helped her up, the great 'white' (though technically named 'grey' due to the grey skin 'white' horses generally have, ooo look at the knowledge…ok stop looking now, carry on) creature took a couple of steps forward causing the girl to cling tightly to the elf before her making Millie smile and raise her eyebrow for a flash before reaching round the 'oh so' firm prince in front of her.

Within moments the group were galloping through the forest which quickly cleared into open moor land. Before them rose steep mountains disappearing into cloud high above the five travellers; "Oh my God Millie, those are the Misty Mountains!" Emma yelled grinning at her friend, Millie sent a quick smile back but was far too busy talking to the elven prince before her to take much notice of the scenery.

"What is your 'God'?" Asked the elf who Emma rode with, the strawberry blond-ish girl tucked her hair behind her ears to keep it from her face, wishing she could tie it back, before answering.

"Um, kinda like Eru, some all powerful guy who knows everything."

"I see." The elf replied uncertainly.

"Um, what's your name by the way, I don't think you ever said."

"No, I did not. I am Atanvariaro."

"Cool name." The girl replied forgetting it immediately, "Um you haven't, you know, got a shorter name have you?"

"Shorter?"

"Well, easier to remember."

"I suppose you could call me Atan if you wished."

"Better, I think I can remember that. How long do you think it will take us to reach Rivendell Atan?"

The elf thought for a moment before replying; "No more than three or four days at most, these are swift horses and the roads are quite safe."

"But I thought there were Goblins and wargs in these mountains!" Emma replied remembering the books she had read of that land, she had always liked wargs who resembled wolves and had been cut out of the first film along with Glorfindel who she wouldn't stop whinging about, and knew most of the other evil creature's and their whereabouts from the books.

"There were at one time but they have been driven from this realm now. Since the war's end most of the dark creatures have fled."

"The war's end?" Emma asked.

"Yes, the war of the ring has finally come to an end, what should have been ended three thousand years ago was finished by the Halfling, Frodo, and his companions. With the aid of our prince Legolas of course, less than a month since."

"The ring wars are over?"

"Yes, have you heard none of this?"

"No, I mean yes, who wouldn't have; the Dark Lord has been destroyed by the destruction of his ring and Aragorn has married Arwen and the hobbits are probably fighting Shakey and all that. I never did like the end of the book."

"What book?" The elf asked in confusion.

"Oh, um never mind, um, will we need to stop soon?" Emma asked quickly, it had been stupid of her to mention the book.

"Yes I believe so." The elf answered slowly.

"Um, tell me of Mirkwood, I have never been there, um except for just now, but I mean tell me of, um, Legolas and his father and your people and…all that." Emma finished lamely in an attempt to change the subject and so talk quickly turned to other things.


	2. death to the werewolf noooooooooooooo

As the sun disappeared into the mountains and Emma and the elves became bored of Millie's constant complaints about her ass("it really is gonna fall off in a minute if we don't stop, and don't know about you but I wouldn't like to see my arse fall off!") the group finally found a place to make camp, a small dry cave. Not the most comfortable of places but certainly better than sleeping out in the cold open air. Um did I say cold, replace with freezing!

Millie almost fell from the horse in her eagerness to be free of it making Emma laugh as she leapt confidently from the saddle. Her friend glared at her; "Oh come on, you get to be an elf I should at least be able to laugh when you fall of a horse!"

Atan and Legolas lead the horses into the cave Legolas shaking his head at the girl's talk, it often sounded alien to him and he had become tired of trying to work out the meaning of their words.

"Anyway I need to talk to you, I've been talking to Atan."

"I noticed." Millie replied with a knowing-and very annoying-smile.

"Millie shut up, you can fancy Legolas as much as you like but that doesn't mean I have to like every elf I meet. Can I carry on now?"

"Sure." Millie said unconvinced and as annoying as ever.

"Fine, Atan said that this 'council' is because the battle is over, do you know what that means?"

"That the battle is over, so what?"

"So, we're not in Lord of the Rings, well we are, but right at the end, like just before the whole Grey Havens thing you never read. That means I have no idea what's gonna happen!"

"So?"

"So, I kinda like to know what's gonna happen when I'm stuck inside a book!"

"Hmm, well since _I've_ never been 'stuck inside a book' I wouldn't know, but Legolas said something about vampires."

"Vampires?"

"Nos Feratu."

"And that makes it so much easier to under stand." Emma replied sarcasitically running her fingers through her hair; "I have never heard of vamps in Lord of the Rings, Werewolves, wargs, trolls, orcs obviously …"

"I think I get the idea, but if Leglolas say's they're here then they are, and he seems to think we might be here to stop them."

"Well Atan thinks we were sent by the Valar and as I have no idea how we really got here I think we should probably go along with what they're saying."

"You mean we have to go fight vampires? Cool." Millie replied totally unphased.

"Can you even fight?"

"Do you even have to ask that?"

"Do I take that as a yes or a no?"

"A yes."

"Um with a sword?"

"Ok no."

"Great…"

"But I'll just get Legolas to teach me."

"You better hope you're a quick study!"

"Oh it'll be fun."

"Fun, learning sword fighting…now there's two words I wouldn't use in the same sentence, at least not without a not."

"And what'll you do when we run into a, what the hell is the name for a group of vamps?"

"Um I have no idea, pack maybe? Horde?"

"Whatever, what'll you do if we get attacked by a large number of very visous vamps?"

"Die?"

"Not funny?"

"It wasn't meant to be. Fine, go learn sword fighting from the, I must admit, very cute master. I'm gonna try something a little easier."

"What?"

"Archery."

"What's easier about that?"

"Well I've done it before, only twice but I at least know basically what to do."

"I know _basically_ what to do with a sword…stick the sharp end in the other person before they do the same to you."

Emma laughed, "Great start."

* * *

The next day Atan halted his horse at the top of the pass, far below Emma-who rode with him-could see the greenish-grey moor disappearing from sight before her. A few stands of trees could be seen and a river passing into the north, but little else broke the endless moor until a distant wood barely visible on the horizon.

"Rivendell is beyond sight for now, but it is only a few days away now, we will most likely rest in the mountains and continue the journey at sunrise."

Emma nodded though her gaze remained fixed on the horizon, far away before her a great eagle circled. "Will you teach me more archery?" She asked.

"If you wish." Came the reply as the elf urged his horse on down the path. The white steed walked at first but as the way became gentler it trotted then cantered and finally galloped at full speed down the slope. Emma gripped on to Atan for fear of falling as they quickly drew level with the other elves.

As the horse slowed Emma began to laugh; "Wow, that was cool, can we do it again?"

"I did not find it…'cool', today is quite warm in fact." Atan replied confusion telling in his voice.

"Never mind."

The group had not travelled far down the sloping pass when Legolas drew his horse to a halt causing the others to follow suit. Millie opened her mouth to ask why they had stopped but Legolas raised a hand to silence her as he listened intently. Mille tried to do the same, closing her eyes to focus on any sound, suddenly she grinned at Emma who was still looking confused and whispered; "There's someone over there." She pointed towards the edge of the path.

"I nar le? Tul et." Legolas called in clear quenya. Suddenly an elf appeared above the path, dressed in dark flowing travelling clothes he leapt down to the track before the company to stand, bow in hand, arrow strung.

"Oh my God Millie, he looks just like that guy…from that film…"

"I assume you mean Heath Ledger" Millie replied a smile on her face as she watched the elf.

"Manen lerta lelelya úlá i Kriaz-nor?" The elf asked raising the arrow to aim at Emma.

"What the fk?" Millie asked but Legolas again silenced her.

"Kriaz-nor?" he asked quietly.

The elf nodded but did not lower his bow.

"You are mistaken." Legolas said in the common tongue so that he could be understood.

The other elf shook his head before speaking again in quenya.

"What did he say?" Millie asked.

Legolas, having no time to wonder why she did not speak the elven tongue replied; "He believes he is not mistaken and would kill your friend."

"Well you can just tell him to fk himself!" Millie replied making Emma smile weakly.

"?" Legolas sent her a questioning look but received no answer as Emma quickly leapt from the saddle. The elf's arrow followed her as he corrected his aim and the girl felt her legs go weak but stood still before him.

"Why?" She asked quietly surprised to find that her voice did not shake.

"Le nar Kriaz-nor." He answered his voice cold and certain.

"Lower your bow!" Legolas said dismounting himself followed by Millie whose hand was already reaching for the dagger sheathed at her side.

The elf shook his head.

Emma stepped forwards, her hands clenched into fists at her sides and her face pale.

"Emma stay where you are!" Millie told her.

"If he wants me dead I'd like to know why." Emma said her voice quiet but still strangely steady.

"Emma will you just shut up and stay still!"

Before anyone else could say or do anything the elf drew back the string on his bow, Millie tried to move forwards to stop him, or help Emma or do something but was prevented from doing so by Legolas who, like Atan, had reached for his sword.

Emma stared into the elf's dark eyes, there was no anger there, no fear but there was something, hate possibly, a certain mind numbing hatred which Emma found hard to attribute to the fact that she was human. And what the hell did 'Kriaz-nor' mean? Before she could think of anything else a grim smile touched the elf's features and he released the bow sting.

The girl felt something hit her as she tried to avoid the arrow and suddenly pain filled her. She vaguely heard Millie's voice as she dropped to the floor, her vision faded and a red mist drifted across her. She thought she heard voices and then all was silence.

Millie had watched as the elf drew back his bowstring unable to do anything with Legolas' restraining hand on her arm. Suddenly the arrow was released, and Millie watched silently as it sped through the air to bury itself deep within her friend's chest. She saw the startled look on Emma's face as she dropped soundlessly to the ground. "Fk you (ok add a range of random swear words because as you know I Never swear and only say things like 'goodness' etc. (as if you can't guess I'm being sarcastic and just can't work out what the hell you would say and don't want to write anything like you did where you made me say all that 'goodness me no' crap!)

Legolas held her back, preventing her from doing anything, she turned to swear some more at the elf when she noticed something in his face that made her stop, following his gaze she saw Emma still lying on the floor, but suddenly the girl began to move. Millie stared as her friend twisted and writhed on the ground and suddenly realised that the girl was changing. Before she knew what was happening Millie was watching not a girl before her but a creature, golden fur growing from her skin, making the clothes she wore fade into nothing. Emma turned to face the elves but it was not a human face that watched them but that of a wolf.

"Oh your God, it's a werewolf!"

"Werewolf?" Legolas asked, "She is Kriaz-nor!"

The creature snarled and turned to the arrow in her chest, she tore it from her flesh with a whimper of pain and then snarled at the elf who had shot her.

The elf went white, his fumbling fingers reached behind him searching for another arrow but the creature rose quickly and-without touching the elf-tore the bow from his hands snapping it in her powerful jaws. The elf stood frozen as the wolf sat before him, tail flicking in a bored manner, amber eyes watching him. Her head tilted to one side, tongue flicking out to lick her nose as she silently watched the shaking elf. A moment later the creature snarled sending the elf running as fast as his feet could carry him-and he being an elf could move very fast.

The wolf yawned and barely seemed to notice the elves behind her as she licked at the red wound in her chest. Millie made to step forward but again was stopped by Legolas.

"I'm getting fed up with this!" She yelled "Let me go now!" The elf released her immediately but spoke quietly.

"She is Kriaz-nor, she may have no control of what she does."

"What the hell is this 'Kriaz-nor?' If you ask me she is no more than a werewolf."

"There have been no werewolves in this land for three thousand years and even when there were they were merely wolves with the spirits of men trapped within them, she is not that, she is changed."

"I don't care what she is, she is my friend!"

"She may not be anymore." Legolas replied.

The wolf watched all this in silence, but as Legolas finished she yawned again and seemed to shimmer and fade from view, it was hard to focus on her at all and suddenly it was no longer a wolf before them but Emma again.

* * *

As the sun set on Middle-Earth Atan stood before the small cave the group had found to rest in. Little had been said about the day's earlier events but the elf still worried about the girl who he felt had been placed under his care.

Legolas strode from the cave, a look of undisguised worry upon his hansom face, "Has there been any sign of the elf, Vennek?"

"No my lord, and Manwë has not yet returned, but I do not think he will trouble us again. How is the girl, Emma?"

"She is Kriaz-nor." The elven prince replied as if this was all the other needed to know.

"But what does that mean? What are these Kriaz-nor?"

"Many thousands of years ago the Dark Lord Sauron began forming his own dark creatures, following in the path of his own master, Morgoth who created the Belrogs themselves. Sauron in his time created the orcs and goblins that still roam our world today, but he also created the Guar Wraiths known to the humans as 'Werewolves'. These creatures were then merely the spirits of men long tortured and held imprisoned in the bodies of wolves, hence the name we gave them, Guar meaning wolf and Wraith, spirit. These dark creatures gave the Dark Lord his title of 'Lord of Werewolves' and served him faithfully for many years.

"Three thousand years ago the Dark Lord was defeated by the last alliance of elves and men, his followers disappeared into the shadows, many coming here to these very mountains, but of the Guar Wraiths little was known.

"It was not until many hundreds of years later that anything more was heard of that race. There had been many whispered tales among the humans, but no elf heard anything until one of them ventured into the heart of Lorien."

At this Atan gasped, for such a dark creature to even contemplate entering the fine woodland realm was impossible to believe!

"The creature was found and obviously killed, but the elves who defeated it claimed that the creature had at once been both human and animal, a wolf in the shape of a human who fought with deadly and dark power. It was not known what they had meant for some time but it appears that this was the next stage in the evolution of these beasts.

"Soon after it was clear that many of the Guar Wraiths still lived in Middle-Earth and many of them were rooted out and killed, and each time the creatures would rise up in semi human forms, able to weald weapons and fight with deadly power. They seemed to be able to withstand almost any injury save decapitation until it was found that for some reason silver, and especially Mithril had some effect on them. The creatures could not heal from a wound made by these metals and Mithril, being the purest form of silver, could drain their strength and burn their skin.

"Now the creatures have evolved even further into what you saw today, now the Guar Wraiths have become Kriaz-nor, able to shape shift fully between human and wolf. In fact the more powerful of their kind can even effect what wolven form they take, becoming large when fighting, or smaller to stalk prey. Still both silver and Mithril affect them greatly but now there is no indication that all the Kriaz-nor are evil.

"It appears that the Guar Wraiths mixed their blood with humans and possibly elves so that the Kriaz-nor are not the evil spirits trapped as their ancestors were and some, as I believe Emma to be, may indeed be 'good'."

"And what does this mean for the girl? Will she be hunted for the rest of her life by elves and men like Vennek?"

"I believe not, although it is often said that Kriaz-nor turn to wolven form only at the time when the moon is fullest many of their kinda have more control than this and I believe Emma to have this control. As you saw earlier she can change at will and similarly she can 'not change' at will. If she remains human she will practically be human although her senses may be heightened and silver will affect her."

"But Vennek was able to sense that she was Kriaz-nor, will others be able to do the same."

"None of her own race will have the skill required but there may be other elves who can sense it, powerful elves like Lady Galadriel, Lord Celeborn, Lord Elrond…"

"But not you?" Atan asked innocently.

Legolas laughed, "No, it appears not, I can travel Middle-Earth, fight all manor of evil, and yet I cannot sense when a girl has the blood of the Kriaz-nor."

"Will she be alright?" Atan asked suddenly serious again with concern.

"I do not know, the Kriaz-nor are said to be able to withstand any wound not made with silver or Mithril, but whether this is true or not I do not know, I believe we are soon to find out…"

* * *

Within the cave Millie sat stony faced watching the dark shadows deepen, her eyes darted to the form beside her and met only the cold pale face that had been there before. She didn't like to admit it, but she was scared, scared for her friends life. Emma had become unconscious almost as soon as she had changed from wolf back to human and had not recovered since, her face now looked grey-white in colour and although it had often been thought that the girl could only become paler than her normal colour in death, Millie hoped that this was not true.

Sitting there now it seemed like hours ago that Legolas had rushed to her side, bandaged the wound and allowed Atan to bring them here. Since then Millie had heard the elves whispering, catching words like 'fractured ribs' and 'punctured lung' without really knowing what was going on. Then Manwë has left in the hopes of finding the elf who had done this, an individual named Vennek it appeared, he had not yet returned.

Suddenly the girl beside her gasped, her eyelids flickered and her breathing became erratic gasps that sounded almost as if the girl was hyperventilating. Millie grabbed her shoulders; "Emma, calm down, breath slower…or deeper…or whatever it is, maybe you need a paper bad, oh fk I think you need a paper bag but they don't have them here…"

Emma's gasps began to slow though her breathing remained laboured; "Millie…shut…up." She managed between gasps of air, one hand on her bandaged chest the other tightly balled against the pain.

"Emma are you ok? No, stupid question, never mind."

"What…happened?"

"Well you know, apart from getting shot and turning into a wolf…oh nothing much. You scared the crap out of us though; I thought you weren't going to wake up."

Emma tried to smile but suddenly coughed; holding her hand before her mouth the girl suddenly stopped wide eyes, staring at her fingers. They were sprayed with tiny droplets of blood.

"It's probably just from the wound thing; it's nothing to worry about." Millie said.

Emma nodded slowly as if trying to convince herself of this. She wiped her hand on her top before trying to speak again; "Am I...gonna…well, what has…Legolas said? Am I gonna…be alright?"

"He hasn't said much, but your gonna be fine."

"Oh God…Oh fuck, I wish we'd never come here, I wish none of this had ever happened!"

"So do all who live to see such times." Millie replied in her best Gandalf voice.

"Millie! Stop with the lord of the Rings quotes!"

"Oh come on, you did it too."

"I'm allowed to, I'm dying."

"Yer well I'm allowed too then-you're dying." Emma laughed despite herself and ended up coughing again. "I think you should probably rest." Her friend said quietly. Emma nodded wincing as the pain in her chest stabbed again, she closed her eyes and within moments had drifted off into sleep.


	3. Lets meet a new hero

Millie, Emma and their elven escorts were now only days away from Rivendell, but all was not going well. Emma's wound was aching and she constantly whimpered and moaned about it, but that was nothing compared to Millie's arse.

"I swear if we don't get there soon it's gonna just fall off! You know, seeing as how you elves are supposed to be the most intelligent people in this world, you would have thought you'd be better at making saddles that didn't make you feel like you were about to lose your arse after a few days travel! And when we get to Rivendell we had best get horses of our own 'cos there is no way I'm letting my arse go through this again!"

The elves took it in terns to scout ahead, to check that the trail was safe, and obviously not to avoid the constant whinging and complaining of their companions.

"Are we nearly there yet?" Emma asked for about the hundredth time that day. And considering that Millie had asked the same question about as many times already, the elves were getting fed up of answering it.

"We may reach Rivendell in two days time, or three at most, as I told you every other time you asked. We will be setting up camp as the sun sets and not before, unless you want to spend another day travelling."

"I don't think my arse could last another day! As it is I don't think I'll ever feel it again!"

Two days later and with the sun falling from the sky the elves and Emma were still travelling. They had left the mountains that morning and were now moving quickly along the banks of a river towards the elven halls of Rivendell.

"I thought you said we'd be there today!" Millie moaned preparing to lament about her numb bum again but Legolas silenced her with a smile before replying.

"I said we may arrive today, or tomorrow."

"But my arse can't spend another day like this!"

"Then you will be glad to know that we will reach Rivendell by night fall."

"That leaves your arse about another hour and a half of travelling." Emma said watching the sun as it moved between the trees in front of them, passing in and out of view.

An hour and a half later, as the sun finally disappeared from view entirely leaving the sky awash with deep golden and red light, the four elves and Emma finally left the cover of the trees and before them appeared the white halls of Rivendell.

"I think I like what they did in the film better." Millie said, her arse momentarily forgotten, "But the waterfall's nice."

Minutes later, with Millie again thinking of her poor arse, ("ow, ow, ow.") And Emma whimpering quietly, The group arrived in main courtyard of the last homely house.

They were greeted by a tall hansom elf with pale blue eyes, kinda like that guy from boom town(who incidentally was also some ensign Hawkins or something like that in one of the Star Trek movies, he also died…but he had very nice eyes) Emma, and the elves quickly dismounted ready to follow the blue eyed elf when a stable-hand appeared to take care of the horses. The boy couldn't have been much older that Millie and Emma, eighteen or nineteen at most (Emma and Millie are 17 BTW) his hair was golden brown and hung loose about his face reaching down to his shoulders but failing to cover ears that were clearly not elven. He was dressed in soft leather clothes of varying shades of brown and knee high boots of deep black, his shirt hung loose about his shoulders and a golden chain was visible about his neck.

Emma stood staring at his deeply tanned and stunningly hansom face as he first took the reigns of Legolas' horses then moved to take Atan's, whose reins she held loosely in her hands. The girl's deep brown eyes stared deep into the boy's own which mirrored hers almost exactly in colour, he smiled at her making her blush fiercely and him smile all the more before turning to leave.

Millie suddenly grabbed her friend's arm and dragged her up the steps into the elven hall and Emma, turning to see the other girl's face, realised that she was barely able to keep from laughing. The blond girl let her hair fall over the face to hide the blush now deepening across her cheeks.

Finally the girls were shown to the room they would be sharing, it was easily two or three times the size of any normal room. The walls had been painted in a pale cornflower blue and the windows reached from the floor to ceiling, looking out towards the distant mountains. The room itself had been split in two, one area set out with two large beds, a dressing tale etc, and the other holding a large fire with comfortable chairs as well as a small wooden table-delicately carved-and a pair of similarly designed chairs.

As soon as they had been left alone Millie collapsed into one of the chairs laughing as Emma, glaring at her but still red faced, slumped into the other chair, "Shut up Millie. Kuso Shite Shinzo!" (actually from earth this time and no not totally made up, this is Japanese and means 'die eating shit' or 'eat shit and die' or… something like that, pretty huh?)

"Oh Emma…Oh dear Emma, how sweet!" She started laughing again and Emma kicked her hard in the shin until she shut up.

(Ok so some time later when I can be bothered, have no idea how long they'll stay in Rivendell but its before the council thing, anyway Millie's prob off annoying Legolas so Emma's wandering…)

Emma wandered, she was fed up of the fine elven halls filled with snooty elves and Millie. I mean elves are fine, so long as you're an elf, and even if you're not they're ok for a short time. A having spent a week trapped in a book with only Millie and elves for company Emma needed some space.

Grabbing the bow Atan had given her and a quiver of arrows that she had borrowed, the girl strode purposefully away from the white halls hoping for some practice with the weapon she hadn't used since Atan had first taught her.

After a quarter of an hour shooting trees; Emma was getting bored. She seemed to be innately skilled at use of the bow-which was surprising as she'd never been that good at anything before.

Sighting on a tree branch high above her Emma released an arrow to punch through a small green leaf pinning it to the wood.

"Good shot, but how the hell are ya gonna get that back down now?"

"Frell!" Emma jumped, swore in some other totally fictitious language (this ones from farscape just in case you wanted to know) and span to face the person who had crept so silently up on her. Her startled brown eyes met a pair of the same colour set in a deeply tanned, and now grinning face that she recognised only too well.

"I didn't mean to scare ya, you can put the bow down now…please."

Emma looked down to find the bow held in her hands, arrow notched and string taunt. Lowering the weapon quickly, the girl returned the arrow she didn't even remember drawing, to the quiver at her back, "Sorry." She said a deep blush touching her cheeks.

The boy shrugged then turned back to the arrow high above them, "So, how are ya gonna get it back down?"

Emma stared at him for a moment, "wha'?"

"Well I assume you're gonna want that back, I mean there are far more useful things it could hit, Nos Feratu for instance."

"Nos what?"

"Evil blood sucking buggers from hell."

"Oh vamps, yer…" Emma replied feeling slightly tongue tied and very stupid. She turned back to the arrow, "I guess I'll have to climb up and get it."

"You any good at that, climbing I mean?" The boy asked, sceptically.

"Sure, why not? I used to do this all the time in Oxford, well minus the whole arrows thing."

"Oxford?"

"Um, yer, never mind." Emma replied not wanting to explain that she and Millie were from an alternate reality, or maybe just reality. Dumping bow and quiver at the tree's base Emma began to climb, trying to ignore the fact that the cutest guy she had ever seen, well one of, was watching her every move. Heart thumping in her chest the girl scrambled up into the tree's lower branches and from there made her way up higher. After a few minutes she had almost forgotten about the boy below her and was moving confidently through the tangled branches towards the arrow high above her.

Finally the girl's fingers closed about the arrow and she tugged it from the branch. The movement jolted her and she almost fell. Grabbing the branch with the free hand to steady her, Emma hung for a moment, letting her heart calm before descending again.

Emma dropped the last few meters landing smoothly before the boy.

"You did it."

"Did you ever doubt it?" The boy looked sheepish, "Aww come on, aren't girls allowed to be able to climb trees.

"Most elves can, but I'm used to girls who prance about the house waiting to be married and what have you."

"Sorry to disappoint you."

"You didn't."

Emma blushed even redder-if that was possible.

"Look, I don't even know you're name."

"Emma, kinda dull I know but…"

"I like it, why's it dull?"

"'Cos like every second girl where I come from's called Emma, Emily or some other variation of my name." Emma shrugged her fingers moving to fiddle with her ear as she did when uncomfortable, bored or just for the hell of it.

"I'm Neithan by the way."

"NEITHAN!" A voice called making the pair jump.

"Um…I think I'd better go…" Neithan said as Emma grabbed the bow and quiver she had left lying by the tree.

"Ok." Emma replied not knowing what else to say. She watched the boy disappear through the trees before following more slowly, and returning to the room she shared with Millie.

* * *

Millie meanwhile had become bored of whatever the hell she had been doing and was at this moment, moving through the stables and trying to work out how she had got there in the first place, and how she would ever get out again. The smell of horses and horseshit was getting on her nerves.

Millie stared around the dust filled room before deciding to try around that corner. Striding purposefully towards it the 'elf' cried out as she walked straight into someone coming the other way.

"Hey watch where you're going!" Millie yelled.

"What the hell are you doing in here!" The other replied, and Millie realised it was the boy Emma had been so taken by on their arrival.

"Oh I was just looking for…never mind what I was looking for, what are you doing here?"

"Um stable hand…" The boy said pointing to himself as if taking to some infant, "Stable…" He waved his hand at the dust filled room around them, "Getting the idea?"

"Elf." Millie pointed at her self, "Human," She pointed at him, "I'm not stupid you know."

"Could have fooled me." Neithan whispered.

"Fuck a duck and learn to fly."

"?"

"Anyway as you're so clever, why don't you tell me where the hell Emma has got to?"

"Emma?" Neithan asked, a dreamy look entering his eyes that Millie didn't fail to notice.

"Yer you know, medium height, non-elf, ginger hair…kinda stupid..."

"I don't think she's stupid."

"Dull…"

"She's not dull."

"Not exactly pretty…"

"I think she's ok."

"Nobody loves her…"

Neithan opened his mouth to protest then stopped as Millie burst out laughing.

"She's my friend, for fucks sake. You're so easy to wind up. Plus, you've known her like, what, three seconds, and already you're in love? Jeese!" When Millie had finally stopped laughing she asked; "So have you any idea where she is?"

"Around." Neithan answered curtly, "Now if you'll excuse me, unlike you I have work to do."


	4. What are they gonna do?

Elrond stood at the centre of the council Gandalf to his left and Thranduil on his right. Legolas sat with Atan, Manwë, Millie and Emma near to his father.

"It grieves me to be speaking to you all again so soon after the threat of Sauron has been removed from our world, but now a new threat has arisen and we are needed again." The high elf looked around at the assembled dwarves, elves and humans before turning to one of the dwarves, "Gimli, son of Gloin, son of Groin(apparently), will you speak before the council."

A red haired dwarf rose, battle axe in one mighty fist which he span continually whilst talking; "As you know the darkness of Moria was forced out after the ring and its master were destroyed. Not one of the vermin was left in the Misty Mountains and we dwarves returned to our mines. But now a far darker threat has arisen. Formed from magics unknown to us; creatures came into the mines who were impervious to our blades. We could stop scarce few of them, but all who they bit became creatures like them and they fed off the blood of our brothers.

"They massacred my people and took the dark caverns of Moria for their own. Little, is known about these creatures and their origin but it is known that they are lead by a mortal man named Radhnor. We know nothing more of him, or his plans. But we do know that with this army of dark beasts he could take over all of middle earth if he wished, and we'd have no way to stop him!

"We know now that the creatures must feed on blood and are already invading the lands of the Rohirrim by night to satisfy their hunger. They need to be stopped, though we know not how this can be done."

"Wait a moment, let me get this straight…" Millie said not bothering to stand as the entire council turned to watch her; "There are Vampires in Moria and they're killing everyone, and you want them stopped but don't know how."

"Basically." Legolas replied standing to address the council; "I think that now I should introduce my companions, this is Millie, and her friend Emma. Millie is an elf, Emma is…not. They know of the Nos Feratu and can show us how to kill them."

The whole of the council turned back to the two girls.

"Right," said Millie looking generally knowledgeable, "All you have to do is stake them."

"Stake them?" One of the other elves asked.

"Yes, get pointy wooden stake and shove it through their heart." Millie replied providing actions in case they still did not understand.

"Unless their like the vampires in Blade, 'cos if then you're gonna need silver." Emma put in, her voice quiet in comparison to Millie's.

"Whoever heard of silver killing a vampire?"

"I guess whoever came up with Blade. But even then you have to make sure you don't get blood on their dust, if they even turn to dust."

"Vampires always turn to dust."

"Except in night world."

"Um excuse me," Atan said, "What was that about blood on dust?"

"Oh in some legends, if you get blood on a dead vampire's ashes-ie dust-they come back to life."

"Oh. How else can you kill them then."

"Well…" Millie began, "Sunlight."

"Except in night world."

"Fire."

"Except in interview with a vampire where the evil one, was that Brad or Tom? Whoever anyway, he wasn't killed by the fire."

"Drinking the blood of the dead."

"Again except in interview with a vampire where the evil guy, who ever he was, wasn't killed by that either. He just ended up looking dead…very strange."

"Holy water."

"Generally harms but doesn't kill unless in huge quantities."

"Garlic."

"Do they even have garlic in Middle earth? Anyway generally used to keep vampires away rather than to kill them."

"Crosses."

"Or any other holy symbol-I don't think they have crosses in Middle Earth not having had Jesus here or anything-but again mostly as a ward against vamps though the pain they cause can be over come as seen in both Buffy(Film and series) and Disc World."

"Steal their left socks!"

"I still think that one's a bit ridiculous, plus how the hell are we gonna get hold of their left socks anyway?"

"Fine, decapitation?" There was a pause… "What, no draw backs, problems or well anything wrong with that?"

"Not that I know of, though you might have to use wood or silver to actually cut the vampire's heads off."

"So basically," Came a voice from across the council chamber, "You have no idea how to kill these things, and you're supposed to be the experts!"

"Who the hell are you?" Millie asked.

"Éomer. Ruler of the Rohirrim"

"I think I like Karl Urban better." Millie said taking in the man's stocky form and red-blond hair.

Emma nodded trying not to laugh at the look of confusion on the man's face.

"Look, we have no idea how to kill them because, as Emma loves to point out, there are so many different versions of the vampire myth. These vampires may be like nothing we've seen before. For all we know chocolate could kill them."

"I hope not, they might have garlic here but they certainly don't have chocolate, and I don't know about you but I have no idea how to make it."

"And you call your self a chocoholic!"

"What's chocolate?" Legolas asked.

"It doesn't matter."

"Doesn't matter!" Emma repeated unbelievingly, "Chocolate is the best thing in the world, well one of, its…"

"Ok we don't need to know, it doesn't kill vampires so we don't need to know!"

"If you don't know how to kill them, do you at least know their weaknesses?" Elrond asked in an attempt to return order to the meeting.

"They can't walk in sun light." Millie said.

"Except in Night World where they can."

"Your Gods Emma you read way too much! Anyway Gimli said they attack only at night which kinda suggests the sunlight weakness."

"Even in night world they hunt at night, hence 'night world'."

"Fine so maybe sunlight. Um they have no reflections."

"And that's a weakness why?"

"They have terrible fashion sense." Millie replied.

"Sure, terrible weakness. Ok in some legends they can't cross running water. Um…"

"That's so crap, I've never head that before you just made it up to sound like you know more than me."

"I didn't actually, read Disc World, it has basically everything in."

"And still we have only three weaknesses."

"You can't really count the reflection thing, or you'd have to count that they can't be captured on film, you know photographed or anything. Except that they can in Buffy."

"You can count both…as a way of telling if someone's a disguised vampire."

"Vampires can disguise them selves?" This question came from Legolas.

"The ones I saw had wild amber eyes like those of a rabid dog, and fangs like wolves." Gimli said.

"In most legends vampires can disguise themselves as humans; lose the fangs, dull the eyes etc. so I guess you could use mirrors to find out if someone was one, but I don't think the film thing counts as you don't really have cameras in Middle Earth."

"So can we tell you about what vampire can do now?" Millie asked ready to show off her knowledge again.

"In some legends, fly…"

"They have telepathic powers."

"They can morph."

"They have heightened senses."

"And super strength."

"Oh and they're basically immortal."

"All right, so these things sound basically unstoppable and at this moment they are massacring my people." Éomer said, "What are we going to do about it?"

"I feel that we need to know more about these creatures before we can decide anything." Thanduil said, his cold blue eyes staring around the council.

"What?" Éomer exclaimed, "My people are dying and you want to waste time looking for more information!"

"The lad's right." Gimli put in, "We should march down there with an army of dwarves, men and elves and see how they withstand out blades!"

"And then if, as has been suggested, only silver harms them, we will all be killed." Thranduil put in.

"Or turned into creatures like them as you yourself said Gimli." Elrond said, "No, we need more information before we can do anything, and yet these creatures have never been seen in Middle earth before."

"The only information we need is how to kill them." Éomer pointed out to the agreement of many of the dwarves and men.

"Maybe it would be best if some of our people went into the mountains to gain information about the Nos Feratu and their leader. A small group may be able to pass unseen by most of the creatures and could bring back the information needed to kill them."

"Oh no!" Gimli cried, "I'm not joining some doomed fellowship again!"

"I never suggested you should." Elrond comforted the dwarf, "but someone will have to."

"I will go my lord." Legolas said and Atan and Manwë were quick to volunteer as well.

"Millie," Emma whispered, "Do you think, seeing as how we're the only ones who have ever heard of Vampire, that we should…"

"We're coming too." Millie said before Emma could finish.

"_Millie_!" Emma hissed, "I was only gonna say we should write down what we know or something."

"Oh come on Emma, we can't come to Middle Earth and then spend the whole time here when there's a huge quest to save the world!"

"Shizer! Oh dear God, we're going to die." Emma muttered. (Little German there, shizer shit)

"Don't be silly, we're the heroes, or heroines or whatever, we can't die."

Nobody else volunteered for the quest, Emma wasn't really surprised still believing that it would lead only to death, but Elrond was more confident saying that the small group was more likely to avoid danger. (Not that they will of course 'cos that would be boring)

Gandalf now stood and spoke for the first time; "Firstly I wish you luck Legolas. What you and your companions discover could change the course of this war. But in the meantime, Éomer I suggest that you move your people as far away from Moria as you can. If I understand correctly what these girls have been saying there is a chance that the creatures can only move at night and if they can only travel on foot and your people are a good distance from Moria then they will not be able to feed."


	5. Stop moaning and get going

Emma sat in the great hall the next morning staring at a bowl of what she hoped was porridge. The thick gloop had been sweetened with honey but still didn't look too appetising.

Millie strode into the hall grabbed a bowl of gloop and sat next to Emma. "Good morning, you look terrible."

"It's not surprising, I got like no sleep last night, I wonder why…"

"Really, I slept like a log." Millie replied whilst debating on whether to actually attempt to eat the gloop. "Do logs actually sleep? I mean they always say, sleep like a log, but to sleep I guess you have to wake up at some point. So does that mean logs sleep in the day then suddenly get up at night and run around shouting?"

"That's really what I want to be thinking about when we're lost in a forest somewhere." Emma replied irritably.

"You really didn't get any sleep did you!"

"Well no as a matter of fact I was up half the night worrying about the mess you got us in yesterday!"

"What mess?" Millie asked sticking a spoon into the gloop and sniffing at it suspiciously. Deciding that it might in fact be edible, she shoved the spoon into her mouth.

"Oh you know, just the fact that we're going on a hopeless mission to battle vampires and we're probably gonna get our selves killed, or worse…"

"Expelled?"

"Well I was gonna go with killed but if you want to joke…"

"I have to joke, if I don't I'll realise that we're going to die and then I'll start panicking, and you do not want to see me panic!"

"D'arvit Millie, calm down." Emma said staring at her friend a look of shock on her face. (D'arvit, that's fairy, basically damn/fuck/whatever, read Artemis fowl soemtime, very funny)

"You're the one who wanted me to stop joking."

"Well you can carry on now, I think I can do enough panicking for the both of us. By the way is this stuff edible?"

"I hope so 'cos I just ate a bowl of it. It's ok once you get over the fact that it looks like a mixture of snot and sick that's had all the colour leached out of it."

"Well that makes me feel so much better. I think I'm going to be sick."

"Speaking of being sick, have you seen Neithan recently?"

"Sick, Neithan, really not seeing the connection."

"Well he is kinda love sick over you."

"Very funny, and no I haven't."

"Really? I would of thought you'd be spending as much time with him as possible if we're going to our deaths as you seem to think."

"Shut up Millie. When are we going?"

"You just told Millie to shut up so I'm afraid she can't answer at the moment, please ask again later…"

"Right lot of good you are." Emma muttered as she stomped out of the hall muttering in an inane mixture of random fictional and real languages.


	6. where'd that new hero go? oh there he is

Atan and Emma drew their horses level with the others. The first day's journey from Rivendell had been simple so far and the elves had decided to set up camp before they left the woods surrounding the elven halls. By the end of the next day they should be at the base of the Misty Mountains and from there it was s shot trip to the caverns of Moria where the vampires were thought to be.

"We have supplies enough for a few days but it would be unwise to use them now with so much food readily available." Legolas commented as he gazed on the clearing that would soon become their camp for the night.

"What? Where? What food?" Millie asked, but a moment later she realised what the elf had meant; "Oh, you mean hunting and stuff. Won't there be things to catch in the mountains?"

"Once in the mountains we don't want to be found by the Nos, so it would be better not to hunt there." Atan replied, "I could take Emma with me now and teach her more of the use of her bow." The elf suggested.

"And I'm sure that's all you'll teach her…" Millie commented a wicked gleam in her eyes.

"Shut up Millie." Emma said. It seemed that her temper had not improved since they had left Rivendell. "Auta miqula orqu!" (Mentioned this one earlier, 'go kiss an orc!'quena)

"Oh I'm sorry, I forgot you've got Neithan now…"

Emma glared at her friend before turning her horse away to follow Atan into the trees.

"Manwë, I think you should scout the land ahead. The light is failing and we don't want the Nos to find us unprepared." The dark haired elf nodded and left silently as Millie and Legolas began to prepare the camp.

"Why do you feel the need to torment Emma?" Legolas asked.

"What? Oh she doesn't mind, unless she's in a bad mood."

"And is she not in a bad mood now?"

"Oh yes, you can tell by the way she says very little and snaps at you when you try to talk to her."

"And yet you still torment her?"

"I thought it might cheer her up, it certainly cheered me up." Millie replied with a grin.

"I do not think I will ever understand you."

"Good."

Whilst they had been talking Legolas had set up a fire within a ring of stones whilst Millie had collected dry wood to burn. Now the sky was so dark that stars could be seen twinkling between the clouds. Millie wondered briefly how Emma and Atan expected to hit anything with their bows when Manwë galloped into the clearing.

"Nos, a hunting party I'd say, heading this way…fast."

"How many?" Legolas asked reaching for his bow.

"Too many, I counted ten though there could easily be twice that."

"Ten against five? They outnumber us two to one!" Millie pointed out, "Three to one if Emma and Atan don't get back here soon!"

"Are they on foot or horse?" Legolas asked trying to gage his enemies' strength, "And what weapon's do they carry?"

"They have no horses, and no need of them. I've never seen anything move as fast as these things."

"But they're not flying so that's good." Millie said. "And," She continued looking up, "The sun's down so they still might not be able to walk in sun light."

"Yes. They appear to carry no bows or weapons of greater power. Though a couple have swords most appear to carry daggers only."

"Well vampire's generally have super human strength and no need of weapons." Millie said, "But that doesn't mean it isn't a good thing that they don't have better weapons…"

"When will they get here?"

"NOW." An arrogant voice answered from the undergrowth as three vampires leapt out at Manwë, dragging him from his horse before he could lift a finger against them. The horse screamed and bolted as the vampires crowded around the fallen elf snarling and growling. The other horses were quick to follow.

Legolas notched an arrow to his bow and let fly with speed that made it impossible for his movements to be tracked. The arrow drove itself deep into the back of one of the vampires crowded around Manwë, as the shaft passed through his dead heart the vampire screamed in pain, dissolving to dust that scattered in the breeze. In the space left by the 're-dead' vampire Millie could see Manwë. She wished she couldn't. His throat had been torn by the creature's teeth and was now little more than a bloody mess that the remaining Nos were still feeding from. To make it worse the elf was still alive and struggling.

As Legolas strung another arrow to his bow more vampires appeared in the clearing moving with unnatural speed. The elf managed to release one arrow before he was forced to resort to his ivory blades.

Millie had already drawn her own loaned weapon, but as the Nos swarmed around the other elves, fighting Legolas and feeding from Manwë, the lead vampire ordered his underlings away from the girl.

This vampire was tall and good-looking as most vampires were; he had jet-black hair and eyes of the palest, frozen blue. His skin looked white in the moonlight. Sharp but delicate fangs could be seen indenting the lower lip of his calmly smiling face as he approached.

Millie raised her sword to face the creature suddenly finding the mind numbing fear that had gripped her since Manwë was attacked had left her now.

_Lower you're sword_

Millie realised that it was stupid to stand against this creature; who was obviously so much more powerful than she was, with a sword she had only learned to use a week before. She felt her hand lower until the sword's point rested on the ground.

The vampire began to move closer.

_Wait!_ Something inside her said, _Why are you lowering the only thing that stands between you and death?_

Millie didn't like this voice; it gave her a headache. But it did make sense. She raised the sword again quickly making the vampire leap back to avoid its sharp edge.

_That wasn't nice. Drop the weapon._

It really wasn't nice, Millie thought, she really should put the weapon down.

_No you imbecile, he's going to kill you!_

Now her head really hurt, and Millie didn't like being called an imbecile, especially by herself, for one thing she could think of far more offensive words to use.

The sword didn't move.

**_DROP THE WEAPON!_**

Without time to think Millie released the sword that landed on the ground before her with a dull thud.

_Better, now stay still…_

The creature was by her side now and the pain in her head made it feel like it was going to explode but no fear touched the girl even though the voice in her head was yelling at her to do something, anything to get away. It just didn't seem important anymore.

She felt cool breath on her neck and wondered for a moment why a vampire would be breathing. Then his strong arms were around her, holding her to him. A moment later a sharp pain in her neck made her gasp and she felt the blood being drained from her body.

_You do not know how powerful you could be._ The vampire said in her mind.

"MILLIE!"

A voice broke through the confusion of the girl's mind and she found herself in the arms of a vampire, his mouth at her neck. Without thinking she pulled away, taking the creature by surprise. Feeling his mouth leave her throat, Millie slammed her head back into his face as hard as she could. She suddenly yelled in pain.

"Damn that never looks that painful on TV!" She said stumbling forward a couple of steps rubbing at the back of her head before falling to her knees, the blood loss, shock or maybe even the bang on her head making her unsteady.

Looking around Millie saw that Atan had joined Legolas, the two elves now stood back to back their weapons making arcs of bright silver and white as they held off the nine vampires around them. Emma, still on horseback, was letting off shot after ill aimed shot at the Nos and yet somehow managing to hit more than she missed. Another figure had appeared across the clearing, he fought with two slightly curved blades without hilt guards, not unlike the Samurai blades of ancient Japan.

It appeared that Manwë had underestimated the number of Nos following him, including the leader over twenty-five of the creatures must have entered the clearing, a little under twenty remained fighting or feeding but that number was rapidly decreasing as any vampire hit through the heart by Emma's arrows or decapitated by the fighters tumbled to the earth as screaming dust.

"Retreat!" The vampire leader called from behind Millie, he had obviously seen that his followers were swiftly losing the fight. Millie turned to see that his nose was a bloody mess from where her head had connected.

Don't worry beauty, we'll meet again. You would like to be one of us… With that he disappeared into the trees with the remainder of his followers.

"Millie!"

"Wha'?"

"Millie, are you OK? Oh my God you're bleeding!"

"Way to state the obvious Emma, I was just bitten by a vampire!"

Emma paused, "You got bit?"

"That's what I said." Millie replied placing her hand on the side of her neck in an attempt to stop the bleeding.

"You're not gonna…you know…"

"To make you a vampire they have to suck you're blood and you have to suck their blood…it's a whole bit sucky thing…and I just realised how that sounded!" Millie suddenly laughed.

"Well you've not lost you're dirty mind and you're still managing to steal quotes so I guess it can't be too bad…but if you feel like drinking people's blood…don't."

"I'll try to remember."

Legolas and Atan appeared behind Emma along with the other person Millie had seen fighting. The twin blades he wielded now sheathed at his back, hilts visible over his shoulders.

"Manwë's dead, and we've lost three horses." Atan said quietly.

"But on the plus side you now know decapitation and wood through the heart kills them."

"Neithan!" Emma exclaimed turning to meet his deep brown eyes, "What the hell are you doing here?"

"Saving you asses as it turns out."

"Fuck! He says ass. And he was so nice until then. I'm sorry Emma, he's not good enough for you."

Neithan looked confused but Emma glared at Millie before saying; "Don't worry, it's probably just lack of blood, she did just let a vampire nearly kill her."

"I'll have you know he was going to make me one of them!" Millie replied, "And I didn't let him bite me, he did some mind control thing."

"Merde, these vampires are telepathic?" (Merde, shit French, need I say any more?)

"Not all of them." Neithan replied.

"How would you know?" Atan asked, suspicion clear in his voice.

"Well…because if the rest were telepathic they would have shut the rest of us up in a moment in stead of fighting and running."

"Which also kinda hints at the fact that even the lead vamp can't be too powerfully telepathic. I mean he could only aim his mind control at Millie and not the rest of us as well."

"And even his powers on me weren't that good, it was like I could fight him, but it hurt a hell of a lot so don't try it at home."

"Why would I want to 'try it at home'?" Atan asked.

"Never mind, look it all makes sense can we eat now, I'm starving!"

"Not for blood by any chance?" Emma asked.

"No!"

"Good...how about really rare stroke raw meat?"

"Emma shut up, I am not going to become a vampire."

"Just making sure."

Legolas knelt to check the bite of the girl's neck but found that it had already closed.

"Emma and I only caught a couple of pigeons before we heard the fight, but I left snares for rabbits so we should have more meat by morning."

"I don't care what we have to eat, I've not eaten anything since lunch and I'm hungry!"

Within the hour the group were sat around the fire eating the now cooked pigeons along with some of their other supplies.

"You don't think they'll come back do you?" Emma asked, somehow keeping the fear from her voice even though the attack had left her even more shaken than before.

"Probably not." Neithan replied, "But they might come back in larger numbers tomorrow night."

"What makes you the local vampire expert?" Millie asked.

"Well you didn't seem to have anything useful to say."

Millie looked like she was about to argue but Legolas spoke, preventing her from doing so. "In the morning we must find the horses, then head into the mountains. Hopefully we can find somewhere to hide from these creatures."

"But I thought we just needed to know how to kill them." Millie said, "Which we now do."

"We need to now as much about them as possible." The elven prince replied, "Which we don't…yet. But I agree that the council should be told what we know so far. So Neithan should return with the information."

"No way!" Neithan yelled.

"You were not even supposed to be here, and Manwë should not remain here." He glanced at the cloak-covered body at the edge of the clearing, far away from the remaining, skittish horses. "If possible he should be taken to Mirkwood, to his family, for burial."

"I killed more of those creature's than any of the rest of you. I obviously seem to know more about them than you do, are you sure you want me to leave?"

"If they are going to attack again it would be stupid to lose anyone who can fight with us." Emma pointed out making Millie laugh, "What?"

"You know that's not the only reason you want him to stay." Her friend replied with a knowing grin.

"Shut up Millie." Emma said, not for the last time, her face going red. "Dolle naa lost." She muttered for emphasis. (your head's empty/you idiot, quenya again…perty language)

Neithan grinned, "Let them go back with Manwë, I'll go on with you instead."

"What?" Millie exclaimed, "No way! We're going to kick some vampire arse, that's arse with an R as it should be spelt by the way, and there's nothing you can do about it!"

"About the spelling of arse or about us kicking vamp ass?" Emma asked.

"Both, so stop saying ass! We're going whether you like it or not."

"Well…" Emma began.

"You're not scared are you?"

"No!" Emma replied defiantly, "Actually yes, I'm bloody terrified. (wow eng swear from Emma did you notice?) You just nearly got yourself killed, or worse; vampified. And I don't even know if that's a word…but it is now. And it doesn't matter that I'm scared out of my mind, 'cos I'm not going back to Rivendell."

"Great speech Emma." Millie commented with more than a touch of sarcasm.

"Shut up, I've never been good at this sort of thing. But we do have…talents you might need."

"Talents?" Neithan asked.

"Well Millie might be able to get immune to vampire telepathy and I…I…never mind what I can do." Emma mumbled not willing to tell Neithan that she was in fact one of the Kriaz-nor, the last of the werewolves.

"So it's decided," Millie said, "We are not going back."

"Then I will." Atan said quietly, "Manwë was my friend, I will not leave him here. And someone should inform the council of our progress, in case…" (and I was getting bored of him so bye bye…)

"In case the rest of us never get back?" Emma asked.

"Well I feel so much better now." Millie said wondering if she wished she could go back to Rivendell.


	7. how suspicious can I make him?

Millie woke with the sun in her face; she blinked a few times as her sleepy eyes became accustomed to the bright morning light. With a gaping yawn she turned over to see that the others were still sleeping-or dead in Manwë's case. She thought about waking Emma-preferably as suddenly and unexpectedly as possible!-but didn't really feel like moving just yet. With a sigh she realised that they would be forced to ride all day again if they were to reach the mountains by nightfall. If they were not quick enough the vampires would find them again. Millie shivered as she thought of their last meeting and was unnerved to find that she wasn't so sure that she didn't want the Nos to find them again. The lead vampire, (damn she didn't even know his name!) had been very good looking. Not to mention perfectly willing to kill her- or at least make her into a vampire, which-for all she knew-might be far worse!

As these conflicting and, in all honesty, confusing thoughts chased each other around the 'elf's' head, she was glad to see someone stirring across the remains of the fire. She was less pleased to see that it was Neithan. The strange boy knew more than was good for him. It is a well known fact that the people who knew the most about occults, rituals and creatures were either involved in them/with them themselves, had been involved in/with them or else would be dead by the end of the movie. Therefore Neithan (Neithan not Nathan which was strange enough in itself) had now, or at some point in the past, had some connection to the Nos. Either that or he would soon be joining Manwë in whatever passed for an afterlife in this world.

The boy rose silently from the fireside, glanced around quickly as if to check that nobody else was stirring. He then collected his swords and silently left the clearing.

Millie-feeling that her suspicions were now justified-rose silently, truly silently as only an elf can, and followed the rapidly disappearing figure into the trees.

The dark haired girl stopped suddenly as she reached another clearing. Neithan stood at the centre, a sword in each hand. Millie watched for a while as the boy moved through a series of well practiced moves, loosening and stretching his muscles. So maybe he wasn't going to reveal a secret alliance with the Nos. Millie stared for a while as he moved onto more intricate moves but soon became bored.

Turning to leave Millie did what all people in a dark forest eventually do…she trod on a dry stick with a crack that may well have been quite quiet but seemed to echo around the clearing like a gun shot. (actually this doesn't happen as much as you would expect…but anyway)

A sword appeared in the tree next to her and stopped, quivering by her ear. Neithan followed in a moment later his remaining sword held loosely in his right hand. "Oh, it's just you." He commented sheathing one sword before pulling the other from the thick barked tree.

"Fuck! You nearly killed me!"

"Sorry. You do know that we're in the middle of a forest not five minutes from a nest of vampires, don't you?"

"Yes, but that doesn't mean you can skewer me with a fucking sword!"

"I didn't know it was you, you could have been a vampire for all I knew."

Millie made a show of looking up at the flecks of blue sky now visible through the shifting leaves above, "Oh yes, a vampire walking about in daylight."

"It's not just vampires that're 'round here, you might have been a…zombie? Um a yeti…witch…werewolf…"

"Oh um, yer you might not want to kill the next werewolf you see…"

Neithan gave her a strange look, "Why? You know they have this strange habit of eating people."

"Don't ask questions, just don't go killing them that's all. Have you finished waving your sword around yet?"

Neithan glanced down at the sword still held in his hand, "oh…yer." He sheathed the weapon quickly.

"Anyway how come you know about yetis and the like whilst nobody else seems to know anything about vampires let alone anything else?"

"Um…" Neithan seemed a little uneasy about answering the question which may well have been because he had a secret alliance with the nos that he was trying to cover up or may have been for far more normal reasons. Suddenly he remembered something that would allow him to avoid answering: "Wait, what were you doing out here anyway?"

Millie put on her best 'innocent' face "I was just walking."

"Sure…" Neithan was not convinced but the girl seemed to have forgotten about her earlier question so he didn't press the matter.

* * *

By the time they returned to the clearing the others were awake and had already collected the wandering horses, packed their equipment and begun to prepare breakfast, (quite good considering Millie only left the camp two pages ago!).

"Where the hell have you two been?" Emma asked, sounding disconcertingly like some annoying schoolteacher.

"Walking…" Neithan replied "Obviously."

"Is there any breakfast?" Millie asked, more to stop Neithan asking more questions than for any real want of food.

"Legolas is sorting it. Atan's already gone by the way, he left Manwë's horse for Neithan to ride."

"You mean you don't have you're own?" Millie asked, "How on Earth did you catch up with us on foot?"

Neithan looked more than a little uncomfortable as he failed to answer this question; "I wasn't exactly 'on foot' as it were…um, or on horse…er…"

He was spared from answering however when Legolas told them all food had been prepared and then they were forced to talk more of the journey ahead than of the day before so no more was said of it. Millie however added it to her list of unusual things about Neithan. (Hint hint there is something odd about this character…do ya think I've made that clear enough in this section?)

Nothing remarkable happened on the journey into the mountains so I'll say no more about it here though I will note that for a stable hand Neithan seemed to have little knowledge of horse riding and though he always managed to stay on the creature and remain with the group he did mention that it was quite a slow way to travel. Legolas then asked how you could travel faster except by flying and Neithan had decided that it would be better for him to remain quiet. The only reason I mention this is that it gave Millie something else to add to her imaginary list...(that's the list of how Neithan is weird and obviously evil.)

By the time they entered the shadowy passes of the Misty Mountains the sun was already low in the sky and soon disappeared from view altogether. The horses grew nervous and skittish and Neithan would have complained some more if he hadn't realised how suspicious that would have been.

"There are some small caves here," Legolas said, "We may be able to rest in one for tonight without drawing the attention of the Nos."

"These caves aren't connected to the Nos' own caverns are they?" Emma asked.

"No," Legolas answered, "The Nos have taken over the mines of Moria, so recently won back from the orc. These caves are nothing like so big and have no connection to the mines that I know of."

"So we'll be safe so long as the Nos don't sniff us out." Neithan said with a grin.

"'Sniff us out'?"

"You yourselves said they probably have heightened senses-including smell."

The group moved into the darkness of the caves and decided it would be best not to light a fire, if the Nos could 'sniff them out' they didn't want to make it easy for them.

The night passed pretty much as the day had-uneventfully. Not a single vampire disturbed their sleep much to the relief of all but Millie who found herself rather disappointed at the lack of Nos. She put it down to the fact that Neithan had had first watch; if he did have any connection to the Nos it would be simple for him to keep them away in preparation for some far worse trap…

* * *

The group rose with the sun, hopeful that in its bright light they would be safe from Vampires. But now came a problem, they had reached the Mountains and were only an hour or so's journey from the entrance to the vampire's nest-the Mines of Moria. But now that they were here they had to decide what to do.

"We need to find out how many of them they are, what weaponry or allies they have and if possible, any other weaknesses or advantages they may possess." Legolas said.

"Yes, numbers, weaponry, allies, etc. a very nice list but how the hell do we find any of that stuff out whilst living long enough to tell anyone?" Emma asked being her usual depressing self.

"It's obvious that we have to get into the mines." Millie said with a grin, "But wasn't the entrance destroyed by some giant squid thing that Lego…I mean _you_ shot?"

"The entrance was cleared when the Dwarves retook the Mines."

"But walking in via the main entrance…I thought we might want to do something a little less suicidal!" Emma again-obviously.

"There may have been other entrances into the mines at one time or other, but they are either closed or hidden now so that only two passable entrances remain. One here this side of the mountains and one…"

"On the other side, probably as closely guarded as this entrance."

"So we have to enter here, that makes it a little simpler." Neithan observed, "So enter the nest, try to avoid getting seen, attacked and…"

"Avoid being killed stroke vampified?" Millie put in with a grin.

"Something like that, and then back out the same way."

"It sounds so simple…and suicidal!" Emma agin, Millie was getting a little annoyed at her pessimism.

"Thanks Emma, I'm feeling much better about all this now." She said.

"Well this'll make ya feel even better, even if the vamps can't stand sunlight they'll be perfectly fine underground. Oh and we won't be able to see a thing! Did I mention that this is suicidal?"

"Only about three times" Millie replied.

"If we're going to our deaths do you think we can go now, I'm getting quite bored of this conversation." Neithan said with a yawn.

"We may as well leave the horses here, if we do get out we'll need them to get back to Rivendell. And if we…don't…we don't want to take them in to the Mines." Legolas said, so the horses were left in the cave where they would hopefully be safe whilst the others gathered all they thought they would need and could carry. Weapons, rope, tinderbox…etc. Then they set off…

* * *

The entrance to the Mines had been cleared as Legolas had said, where once had stood a beautifully decorated door-the decorations only visible in moon/star light-now stood as a gaping hole in the face of the mountain surrounded by a jumble of rocks and stones partially cleared away leaving a meandering trail up to the 'door'. The stagnant pools and dead trees still surrounded it though and the travellers wondered if the great water monster-or squid as Millie called it-still lived in those murky waters.

Legolas made sure that the group approached the entrance silently, keeping well back from the water's edge. They could all see the gaping darkness of the entrance they knew they would have to pass though, when Emma suddenly stopped them all.

"What? What's wrong?" Millie asked

"I don't know, wait a moment…" Emma sat perfectly still for a moment before saying; "I think there may be someone guarding the entrance."

"It would make sense, but if the Nos cannot stand sun light it could be none of them" Legolas pointed out.

"We were never sure that they couldn't stand sunlight." Emma replied.

"Where are you going?" This last remark was Millie's, directed at her friend who was scrambling closer to the entrance. The blond(ish) girl turned to silence her friend before continuing a little way. She peered over the rocks for a moment before returning as quietly as she could, keeping her head low.

'There are three men hidden around the entrance'

'We could take three of them!' Millie said, hand on sword hilt.

'I can only see two of them though.' Emma said

'How do you know that there are three then? How did you even know they were there in the first place?' Neithan asked.

Emma didn't really want to say that she had smelt them with her supersensitive werewolf nose, so she just shrugged and said that it was perfectly obvious that someone would be guarding the entrance. "Oh and by the way they're werewolves."

"Should I even ask how the hell you know that these people are werewolves?" Neithan asked.

'No.' Millie replied, 'If Emma says they're werewolves then they're werewolves."

"Can they see us, I mean do they know that we're here?" Legolas asked looking at Emma

"If they knew we were here we'd be dead by now, or at least fighting. We're down wind of them so they can't smell us…yet. But we need to stay quiet." The girl replied.

"OK werewolf expert, what do we do now?" Neithan asked.

"Avoid them."

"But we have to get in there if want to find anything out." Millie said.

Emma took a deep breath, "I suppose I could get past them…maybe."

"Without them seeing you?" Neithan asked.

"Oh no, no one could get past them without them knowing, but I could…get past them with them seeing me…maybe."

Now Neithan looked totally confused, "But can't the rest of us go?"

"No."

"How…"

"Don't ask. I 'spose I'll have to go otherwise you'll never find anything out."

"At least we won't have to listen to you moaning."

"Great Millie, that makes me feel so much better."

"Gotta look on the bright side else I'll go mad." Millie said with a grin, "Good luck." She said more seriously.

"I'll be fine." Emma said, more to convince herself than the others. She moved quickly away and soon disappeared from sight among the torn boulders of what had once been the majestic entrance to Moria.

The others crept closer to the dark gap that lead into the Mines now. Peering among the broken stone; Millie's sharp elven eyes took a moment or two to pick out the half hidden figures of the werewolf guards. Without the wolven sense of smell to guide her it took a little longer for her to find their position, but her sharper eyes could pick out far more detail. As she watched, the man she thought to be the leader-a dark haired thug, bigger and hairier than the others-stood suddenly from his half-crouched position to the left of the entrance. His eyes blazed in the golden sunlight as he bared his teeth-more like fangs really-and glared out across the ruins. His companions, or underlings or whatever the other two were, remained hidden. Millie was surprised to see that all of them had swords sheathed at their sides. Why would a werewolf need a sword? If they wanted to kill someone all they had to do was change.

Now Millie could see what had made the man/creature move-Emma(as if you couldn't guess)-The girl looked tiny compared to him. So small, harmless, vulnerable. Millie felt a stab of fear, what if he attacked her? Would they be able to do anything to stop him? This wasn't just some fairy tale where the good guys always win...live happily ever after and all that crap. Just look at Manwë, try living happily ever after when you're dead! What if Emma were next? Now I'm beginning to sound too much like Emma, she'll be fine...probably.

Emma had much the same thoughts running through her head-except the part about sounding like herself, which would be stupid-she tried to ignore them but the more you try not to think that your gonna die in under five seconds the more it seems to be the only thought in your head.

The girl strode forward purposefully, trying not to look scared, forcing her legs not to shake. If an animal-or werewolf-thinks that you're scared they tend to take for granted that they can do what they like with you, rip out your heart for instance. Unsurprisingly Emma felt slightly sick at this thought. Maybe she could just go away and be sick and not have to face three very bored, and quite likely to kill her, werewolves.

'Well well, what do we 'ave 'ere? A perty li'l gel got 'erself lost in the mountains.' The man sniggered, moving closer to the now very pale Emma. He grinned, revealing a mouth full of things that looked far more like fangs than teeth. 'That was a big mistake.'

Millie almost screamed as the creature leapt forward, grabbing Emma's arm in one hand and pulling her head back with the other-baring her neck. But unlike some of the girl's friends (hint hint Smeagi) Millie wasn't the sort of person to scream at just anything, not that seeing a man about to kill your friend is 'just anything'.

Beside her Neithan grabbed at the hilt of his sword and had to be held back from attacking by Legolas. The boy struggled to break free but was quickly silenced by the elf who forced him to look at what had happened.

As the werewolf had grabbed her, Emma had frozen. Fortunately the magic within her had not and as the creature bent to-most probably-rip her throat out...he stopped. This may have been because he had a change of heart and decided that eating 'li'l gels' as he called them was undoubtedly wrong, or it may-as is more likely-have been because the girl before him was now more wolven than human. He pulled away as Emma span from his grip with a threatening snarl.

The man stood stock still staring and from where Millie sat she could see that his companions/minions/underlings/etc. were also staring. Neithan sat open-mouthed, muttering incoherently, so mister know-it-all didn't 'know it all' then. She thought with a grin.

Emma growled, she had only become a wolf once before but somehow this time it was easier. The first time she had barely remembered who, or what, she was. Had given over almost entirely to the wolven instincts that filled her mind. Now she found she had more control. She thought she might even be able to turn back...maybe.

'I'm sorry,' The werewolf said, eyes wide with shock, and sounding very apologetic, 'I didn't know what you were.' He sounded almost in awe of her.

Emma tilted her head to one side and growled.

The werewolf backed away, scared. _He_ was scared of _her_. Emma realised. How strange. She flicked her tail and sniffed at the air. She could smell his fear. If she could grin she would have done. This was so cool. And, even better some part of her mind pointed out, you can't smell the others, which means neither can the werewolves.

With a swish of her tail Emma turned to examine the entrance to the mines. She could smell a faint scent which, she decided, must be that of the Nos. But there was no one near by. She could enter now, have a nose around, see what she could find out. And leave her friends to be attacked by werewolves the moment the wind changed, or...

Emma turned with a low growl and leapt at the man who-only moments before had been about to kill her-and sunk her teeth into her throat. He gave one desperate gurgling scream as he died, clawing at her thick coat in an attempt to break free.

Emma raised her head, mussel stained with blood. Her eyes caught those of a frightened underling (or whatever the other werewolves were). With a snarl she leapt at him too, clawing and biting as he struggled to get away and draw his sword at the same time. Maybe if he had concentrated on one or the other he might have saved himself, as it was he died almost as quickly as his leader.

The third werewolf didn't wait for her to attack. He ran from cover, not stopping to see what had happened to his companion he dashed away from the crazed wolf, leaping boulders and rocks in an attempt to get away. Unfortunately he had chosen the wrong direction to run and ran almost straight into Neithan's sword. Raising his own blade just in time the werewolf managed to stave of death for half a second longer before the boy's other sword slipped under his guard to gut him.

'You know you probably should have left him alive so that we could question him.' Millie said matter of factly.

'He is alive.' Neithan replied looking rather shell shocked, still finding it hard to believe that Emma was a werewolf, as he gestured at the still writhing body before him.

'I was thinking alive enough to answer our questions.'

'Well I thought I'd rather he was dead enough not to kill us.' Neithan replied slitting the werewolf's throat quickly to end his pain.

'Have you two quite finished?' Neithan jumped at the sound of Emma's voice. Well, the last time he looked she had been a wolf.

'Did you have to kill them Emma, I thought you were just going to, you know, get past them.'

Emma shivered, 'I was, but...it's kinda different when you're a wolf. Suddenly it seems so much simpler to just, you know, rip someone's throat out.'

'Remind me not to annoy you.' Neithan joked, probably joked. Though he still looked rather shell shocked.

'Why didn't they change when they realised you were going to kill them?' Legolas asked.

'I don't think they could.' Emma replied.

'But I thought you said they were werewolves, what's the point in being 'were' if you can't change?' Millie asked.

'I guess most werewolves can only change with the full moon, they probably have heightened senses and whatever, but can't change.'

'Oh. So are we going to go in there now then?'

'I never noticed how eager you were to go straight to your death.'

'And I never noticed how pessimistic you are, come on I'm an elf and you're a werewolf what could possibly kill us?'

'How about a hoard of mad vampires?'

'But we're the good guy's, we can't die.'

'Tell that to Manwë.'

Millie looked slightly less certain now, 'Look, we have to find out about these vamps one way or another.'

'I vote another, way that is, I just can't think of one.'

'Why deny the inevitable?'

'The only inevitability is death and we d our best to defy that daily.'

'Is that another quote Emma?'

'How did you guess?'

'Oh I don't know, it just sounded, you know, quotey. Anyway are we gonna go?'

'Fine…Gurth gothrim lye.' (death to our foes, elven war cry, I kinda like it)

'Then off to our deaths we go...great.' Neithan muttered. (not such a good war cry, but it has a nice ring to it)


	8. Into the dark, does this sound familiar?

The light followed them only a few feet into the darkness before it was swallowed up. "How are we supposed to find anything in here? I can't see my hand in front of my face!" Neithan asked staring wide eyes at the pitch darkness around him.

"We won't have to," Emma said, "It'll find us…or at least the vamps will."

"Hey I can see!" Millie exclaimed.

"And you were blind before obviously."

"I mean, I can see, and it's all dark, but I can see. There's steps up there."

"Elven eyes are better adapted to the dark then human ones." Legolas said calmly.

"What about…werewolf eyes." Neithan asked, still a little unsure about the idea of travelling with such a creature.

"I can see well enough." Emma answered a little hurt at the boy's tone.

"Great, let's get going then." Millie said with her usual enthusiasm.

"It might have escaped the attention of those with the memory of a fish…but I can't see a thing." Neithan said.

"I do not have the memory of a fish, and it didn't escape my attention, but you're gonna have to deal with it."

"Great, so the first cliff we come to, I'll just walk over the edge."

"That'd be a good idea."

"For Feth's sake shut up! Do you want every vamp in here to find us?" (probably mentioned this earlier, Feth is a Tanith tree god)

"Emma, you know that talk we had earlier about actually learning to swear…"

"Piss off Millie."

"That's a little better, next try 'fuck'."

Emma glared, though in the almost total darkness of the mine it had little effect. "Joder, ebat, ficken, d'ui…"

"What the hell was that?"

"Fuck." (technicaaly it was fuck in Spanish, Russian, German and Cantonese)

"If you've quite finished…what the hell am I meant to do?" Neithan asked.

"You could walk off the edge of a cliff as you suggested earlier."

"Millie, you are not helping."

"I never said I was."

Legolas decided it would probably be best if he put a stop to this before it got out of control. "If me and Millie go first we'll be able to see the way, Neithan, you can follow us and Emma can stay at the back. That way we should be able to warn you of any cliffs and Emma can ensure that we aren't followed."

"Sounds good enough to me." Millie said.

"You're not the one travelling blind."

"You could always wait outside."

"You could always get yourself killed by a vampire…that's what'll happen if you leave me whilst you go off wandering."

"And you expect to fight how? You said yourself, you can't see."

"Even blind I could fight better than you."

"You haven't seen me fight…"

Emma chose that moment to but in "I'm sure we'll all get a good enough demonstration in a moment if you don't shut up. Can we get going now?"

With more than a few mutterings they followed the passage as it wound further into the darkness of the mines. Soon Millie and Legolas were straining to see even with their enhanced elven vision. Emma was surprised to find the almost total lack of light was enough for her to see in, or at least she managed to avoid falling over any cliffs. Neithan on the other hand groped along the uneven passage, with his eyes wide and staring he could see…nothing. Not even the suggestion of a shadow in the complete blackness you couldn't really call seeing. He wondered vaguely if his eyes were even open certain that had they been closed there would be no difference…no still black, black and well, black. He stumbled into Millie again, much to her annoyance.

Between Neithan's stumblings and Millie's colourful outbursts they noticed random side passages that led from the route they travelled into-if possible-further darkness. Legolas chose to ignore each of these in favour of the most used trail that they followed. Suddenly he stopped, Millie stopped behind him, Neithan didn't.

"Hey watch where you're going!" The words echoed around the darkness.

"How exactly?"

"Shut up will you!" Emma hissed, "Or do you want the vamps to find us? I'm surprised they haven't already."

"Emma you sound so serious!"

"I think death is pretty serious."

"Look they are not going to find us…yet."

"Don't jinx us!"

"What is a jinx?" Legolas asked.

"Technically an evil spell not unlike a hex or curse. But in this case it means saying something stupid that could get us killed like, 'nothing can go wrong'." Legolas was none the wiser after Emma's explanation but decided he was better off that way than asking the girl anything else. He didn't think he would ever understand more than half of the things either girl said and was getting tired of asking.

"Forgive me for being stupid and blind, but who have we stopped?"

"It's obvious isn't it?" Millie asked.

"Maybe for those who can see."

"We don't know where to go now."

"Oh great, now I'm blind and lost!"

"Not lost." Legolas reassured him, "I know exactly where we are…just not where we have to go."

"You seemed to know well enough up 'till now." Emma commented unhelpfully.

"I just followed the most used path assuming that was the way the Nos Feratu must have gone…"

"But…"

"But the path now splits."

"Oh."

"Eeeny meeny miny mo it then." Millie said with her usual, though not totally honest, enthusiasm.

As Legolas had no idea what this meant, it didn't particularly help.

"Damn." Emma muttered.

"Wow, was that…swearing from Emma!"

"Piss off Millie, I'm scared and can't be arsed with you're comments!"

"And you even got you're favourite catchphrase in!"

"I'm scared!" Emma said with a laugh, "You'd'a thought I'd have said it earlier."

"So, what are we gonna do?" Neithan asked as Emma's muffled laughter died down.

"Split up." Emma said decisive for once, though with more than a hint of apprehension.

"Split up? Are you insane!" Millie almost yelled, her voice echoed around the passages, "But people always die when they split up!"

"Normal people die when they split up too." Neithan replied totally seriously. (if it is taking you a while to get this joke…don't worry, there are more)

Millie was silent for a moment before bursting out laughing, "You may be a git but I think I could get to like you, with comments like that my son…you'll go far."

"Um…great?" Neithan replied more than a little worried at the…complement was it?

"Anyway, we're probably going to die anyway." Emma put in, possibly a little phased at Millie sounding more pessimistic than her and defiantly a little put out at her 'nice' comment at Neithan. Aww jealousy, how sweet.

"Shit Emma, way to make me feel better."

"Millie's right, we really shouldn't split up." Neithan said.

"Fuck, did you just side with me…siding with me and producing a perfectly good-ish-joke…I'm shocked!"

"Look we need to find out as much about these vamps as we can. What if the thing that can destroy them is down the left passages…and we go right?"

"Well we'll just have to go left then." Millie of course.

Emma sighed, fed up of telling her friend to be quiet, "Look there's no other choice, we have to split up."

"Are you sure you don't just want to get some time alone with 'lover boy' in the dark?" Guess who…

Both Emma and Neithan managed to blush at this though in the almost complete darkness no one should have noticed, somehow Millie knew anyway and grinned happily.

"I believe splitting up is unwise…but the lives of so many people depend on us." Legolas said speaking for the first time in…oh a page and a half, what's that, five minutes? A long time anyway.

Emma though about making some comment about Millie and Legolas, but didn't. Millie meanwhile guessing what the elven prince would say swore loudly.

"I think we have to split up."

Although Millie argued for a few minutes more, Neithan failed to help her and it was soon decided that splitting up was the most logical option…so they did.


	9. I want chocolate! E&C

Emma looked around in the darkness. Vaguely she could make out the walls of the great Dwarven chamber they had stumbled into. Something crunched under her foot. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

"What's wrong?" Neithan asked, a glowing phosphorescence in this passage allowing him to finally see. If you could call it seeing.

"Nothing," she said in a high voice, "Oh, god, we're all going to die down here, aren't we?" She rolled her eyes and tried unsuccessfully to accept her fate as her friend had.

"At least, _if_ we die, we'll go doing something good." He said encouragingly, but his voice was so single in the gloom it had no effect. "Would it be so bad? I can't think of a better way to die."

Emma glared at him. "I can!" She growled, the Kriaz-Nor within her barely suppressible. "Eating chocolate for one! Can you believe I've gone so many days without it! Something's not right."

"Chocolate?"

"Yeah, it's kinda brown, in blocks, Cadburys is best…"

"No, I know what chocolate is. I just meant that if you liked it that much, why don't you just ask your friend for some?"

"Who? Millie? She doesn't have any chocolate."

"Ya-ha. She was eating this bar of it the other day. Didn't you know?"

Emma looked at him in disbelief, waiting for the information to sink in. Then, suddenly, as if possessed she growled loudly into the darkness. "Millie!"

* * *

"Whoa! What was that?" Millie said as she turned to Legolas. They stood motionless for a moment listening for any further noise. "Sounded like Emma."

"I am sure that your friend is well. If they need us, we will know." He looked at her as her eyes circled the room.

"Plus, she sounded pissed."

"Pissed?"

She opened her mouth to explain, but then stopped when she caught his eyes. She let out a long breath. "Never mind."

They continued to walk. "How long have you known Emma? From birth?"

Millie laughed. "Nah. Couple of years. Similar interests united us in a _really_ boring English class loads of times each week." She turned to see his reaction. He was watching her intently, patiently listening and trying to understand everything she was saying. She lost her smile. "Feel free to say anything."

"You are good friends?" He attempted. It was sufficient for her to continue.

"Yup. If one of us is in trouble, we always know that we can go to the other person, you know? We may look like we hate each other most of the time, but you know, it's when you need help, the other person is there and…I sound crazy, don't I?" She laughed.

He smiled. "Not at all. I understand." She nodded to herself and turned to continue walking. "You are a good person."

"Debatable." She said; a well practiced response. She took a deep breath. "So, what of you, Prince?"

He watched her walk a head. "There is not much to tell of me. And you are wrong, you _are_ a good person."

"Yeah, and you are blind. Anyway, I'm a person who has done bad things. You do the math. I'm sick of talking about me, lets talking about you." She was getting uncomfortable, and was grateful that he could not see her face.

"You are a good person who has done bad things. It is possible. And unless you have committed murder, then I doubt you have done bad things."

"Jesus Christ, Legolas. You talk too much." She shook her head.

"And you are…different."

She laughed. "Yup, crazy ol' me!"

"Different." He corrected.

He was suddenly very close. Millie stopped and closed her eyes. She could feel his soft, controlled breath brush against her hair. Her own, jagged breath, was catching in her throat.

Legolas raised a hand to her shoulder, and tentatively rested his fingers there. She turned and looked at him. Everything was serious now as she looked up at him.

His eyes didn't meet hers. They were focussed, intent, on her lips. He bent down towards her. She sucked in a harsh breath.

"Don't." She whispered. He froze, inches from her mouth.

* * *

"Ooooh! She is evil – no, wait, evil is too good a word for her. " Emma racked her brain for something to call her friend but for once her wide ranging vocabulary failed to draw any suitable words from the many different real and imagined languages she knew-or at least new the bad words from. "Oh fuck it I've never been good at English anyway she's just a fucking, bloody, stupid, bitch!"

Neithan shook his head. He had been listening to this rant for some time now, and had decided it best to just sit down and wait it out. He was surprised however that the girl had finally chosen to swear in English.

"That git! If I had chocolate I would have shared it with her, unwillingly probably, and I wouldn't have given her much, but I would have given her some…maybe." Emma side. She turned to Neithan who had his eyes half shut. "Fuck her the stupid bitch!" She shrieked again. His eyes shot open.

Realisation struck him. They were stuck, in a big, big cavern, filled with vampires, and Emma was shrieking.

"Emma, shush!" He spat in a whisper, jumping up. He looked frantically around for any movement.

"No way! I'm gonna kill her!"

"Shut up!" He grabbed hold of her arms, pinned by her sides and continued to search.

"I'm gonna kill--"

"Shut up!" He covered her mouth with one hand and looked into her eyes. "Over a flaming bar of chocolate you'd kill your friend?" She glared at him mumbling something through his hand something about being perfectly willing to kill anyone if chocolate was involved. "Shush."

He let go of her, but continued to watch her. "Why?" She asked feeling quite content to continue this rant for the next hour or so, or at least until they met up with Millie again…

"They can hear you?" he replied slowlyas if talking to an infant.

"I hope she fucking well does hear me!"

"The fucking vampires!" He growled back.

Emma blinked. Neithan had just sworn. Neithan. Good Neithan. Misunderstood Neithan. Neithan Neithan. "Did you just swear? You've been spending too much time around Millie."

"Shh!" He pleaded. "At least I have a good reason for doing so."

Emma starting flailing her arms. "I think chocolate is a perfectly good reason for anything, and like if any bloody vamps can hear us anyway they'd be here by now…"

Neithan moved in. He pulled on her arms and tugged her towards him, covering her mouth with his own. At first he continued to look around for movement as he did so, but then his eyes felt heavy and he deepened the kiss. He released her arms, his hands sliding round her back. Emma looped her fingers in his hair. She didn't know what she was doing. But she liked it…

* * *

Legolas' eyes stared into Millie's as she stood completely still, refusing to meet them. She felt weird, confused. She took a deep breath and a step back, still focussing on the floor.

Legolas furrowed his brow and turned away. "You do not like me."

Millie looked up at him. She shook her head. "Oh, no, I like you. And believe me, there's nothing I'd like more than to do you right here, right now, but we can't…I can't."

"Do me?" He asked, unsure of what she meant.

"I can't." She looked at him, her eyes flicking across his body. "God help me, I want to!" She bit her lip and took a deep breath.

"You really are 'different'."

She looked at him and sighed. "I really am crazy. So fucking crazy that I'd turn down a hot prince." She rolled her eyes and turned. "Shit!"

Yellow eyes and white teeth grinned at her. "Fucking shitty fucking shit!" She spat out as the figure remained there.

"You're the one the master wants, aren't you?" The creature slimed.

"Fucking shitty fuck!"

"Can you speak this language?" He asked, confused.

"Oh fuck." Millie continued. The vampire frowned at her, then suddenly his eyes bulged and he fell back screaming.

* * *

"How sweet." A voice floated down out of the darkness.

Emma would have screamed but that was kinda impossible what with kissing Neithan and all. Drawing away from the now frozen boy she turned slowly to meet cat like amber eyes glinting in the darkness. And screamed.

Neithan clamped a hand over her mouth as the vampire laughed but he needn't have bothered, at exactly the same moment a more feral scream of fear and pain filled the echoing caverns.

The vampire glanced around, suddenly less confident. With the silken sound of steel on leather Neithan drew one of his swords. Pulling Emma behind him he stepped forward; "You were saying?"

The vampire stared at the sword for a moment, then laughed; "Dinner." (Will not use 'happy meals on legs' quote!)

"I don't think so." He barely seemed to move be trying, one moment he stood stock still before the trembling Emma, the next his blade was flashing out through the vampire's neck. The creature screamed as its flesh burned into a cloud of fine ash. "Well that was easy."

Emma tapped his on the shoulder before indicating the mass of amber eyes twinkling in the darkness.

"Bugger." Neithan muttered, if Emma hadn't been so busy worrying about the hoard of Vamps before her she might have noticed that this a word neither she nor Millie had ever used…she didn't. "You might want to find you're bow."

* * *

Millie mean while was staring at the pile of ash before her. "Fuck, I didn't even touch it…shit."

"Millie, are you alright?"

"Shit."

"Millie?"

"Do I sound fucking alright! How the hell did that happen?"

Legolas looked from girl to dust and back again before even trying to answer, "I think it died."

"No shit Sherlock!"

"I think that maybe you killed it…who's Sherlock?"

"Clever arsed git detective. And how could I have killed it, I didn't even touch it!" Suddenly Millie who had seemed so…if not rational then at least calm and confident, appeared to be shaking slightly. Legolas was more than a little scared. Reaching out tentatively he took the girl in his arms, feeling her melt into his comforting embrace.

"Don't worry. Be glad that it is dead."

"But if I did it what's to stop me doing it to anyone else? Like you…or Emma."

Legolas smiled, "And you say you are not a good person!" Millie chose not to comment so Legolas continued; "I would assume that what you did is linked to you're telepathic powers."

"What telepathic powers?"

"You said you could counter the instructions the lead vampire put in your head, I think that's telepathy. So this could just be an advancement of that power."

"Fuck." Millie didn't really seem too happy about that.

* * *

Neithan moved like, well like an expert swords man. Vampires appeared and disappeared around him, dissolving into clouds of ash. And yet as each one was killed another would take its place. Emma tried to help though her lack of skill with a bow served more as a distraction than anything else. Occasionally-more by luck than skill-the arrows would pass through the heart of a vampire, killing it instantly.

As the vampires kept coming Neithan began to fall back to the cavern entrance, being sure to keep Emma behind him, safe from the creatures. "Emma run!"

Emma let another arrow fly, "What?"

"Bugger," The boy hissed as a vamp's fang caught his hand. "Run will you, get out of here!" When the girl still didn't move he slashed wildly at the vampires closest to him, sheathed one sword, grabbed the girl and ran dragging her into the deepening darkness of the passage they had entered that cavern by. The vampires gave chase.

Within five seconds, or half a line depending on how you look at it, Neithan could no longer see the passage before him, the eerie phosphorescence having disappeared along with the cavern. He stumbled into the wall a few times before Emma realised that he couldn't see and took the lead, dragging the boy along behind her.

A short while later…(um another half a line) Emma stopped, doubled back and charged down another passage. Neithan tried to ask what she was doing but was quickly silenced. The vampire hoard(wow have used that word a lot!) charged passed following their original route. The creatures had soon disappeared into the darkness.

"Ok so what do we do now?" Neithan asked as quietly as he could.

"Follow this passage 'till we find Millie and Legolas."

"How do you even know how to find them? We could wander around these mines for years and never even hear them!"

"I don't need to hear them, being a werewolf does have some advantages."

"Oh…yes." Neithan sounded a little less confident now, "So you can just, what? Follow their scent?"

Emma was slightly hurt by the boy's apparent distrust and fear of her, he had been perfectly happy when he didn't know-or forgot-that she was a werewolf. "Something like that." She muttered before turning to follow the route the elves had taken.

"Um…Emma?" The girl turned half hoping for an apology, or some nice words at least. "I still can't see anything, I have no idea even where you are, let alone which way to go."

"Oh." The girl replied without a hint of enthusiasm. She grabbed his arm and dragged him in roughly the right direction.

Millie was still stood in Legolas' arms when Emma strode up to them dragging Neithan along behind. "Having fun?" She muttered. Millie immediately leaped away from the elven prince who appeared more than slightly embarrassed.

"Emma…and Neithan…what the hell are you doing here?"

Emma let Neithan go barely watching as he leant-carefully-back against the stone wall. "We were attacked. We fought. We ran. We ended up here."

"Very concise." Millie commented, "Did you find anything?"

"No…but…why didn't you give me any chocolate!"

"Chocolate…what chocolate?" Millie asked, all innocence.

"You know what chocolate! You evil, evil person! Kuso shite shinezo!" (I love that one, die eating shit etc. Japanese)

"Told you I was evil!" Millie grinningly told Legolas.

"You could have given me some fucking chocolate." Emma muttered.

Millie appeared to look shocked, "Emma…did you just swear?"

"Oh fuck off Millie." The girl said, obviously in a bad mood.

"Moody!"

"What's that?" Emma asked pointing at the vampiric pile of dust in an attempt to change the subject.

"Um, that would be a vampire." Legolas answered.

"Aren't they normally taller?"

"Not when dead."

"That is so unfair, we get a hundred vamps and you only get one!"

"That's a bit of an overstatement isn't it?" Neithan put in.

"Piss off."

"Emma, I have a feeling you're in a bad mood at the moment and will probably regret it in the morning if you piss everyone off now." Millie told her friend who just glared, seeing the reason of her friend's words but not wanting to listen.

"Um, this is just a thought you know, but don't ya think we aught to sorta move in case those vamps we lost become…unlost as it were?"

Millie stared at the boy, "Did you always speak that much crap?"

"No, only when blind and told to piss off. Look we really should probably move."

"Great, can we go back outside now?" Millie asked.

"No," Emma replied trying to sound less moody, "Firstly we haven't found anything out yet, and secondly that's the way the vamps we lost went so unless you want to find them again I think we should go the other way."

"Great." Millie muttered. (I think Millie should say something Millieesq and witty…but being neither witty nor Millie, I have no idea what to put:S)


	10. icky gooey romany stuff, kiss the boy!

They had been wandering around aimlessly for hours now and Millie's feet were hurting. Having spent so much time moaning about her arse(that's aRse not ass by the way)on the way to Rivendell, she didn't think she should start complaining now. So Neithan did it for her.

"Bugger." He hissed as he stubbed his toe for probably the hundredth time since he'd entered the mines. "Is there no chance we could stop for a while, I swear we've been walking in circles for the past hour. I'm sure I've seen that total blackness before…"

"Sure you have…" Emma had finally begun to stop being quite so moody, but wandering around half-blind in a vampire nest for hours on end has a way of getting on people's nerves, and she still hadn't quite forgiven the boy for being so 'different' when he remembered what she was.

"Maybe we should stop." Millie suggested.

"As if Neithan wasn't strange enough earlier siding with you, now you're gonna be just as strange and side with him…amazing."

"Emma, you don't seriously expect us to walk round here forever do you? If we're found by the vamps I would like to be awake enough to fight them."

"I never said we couldn't stop, I just pointed out the strangeness of you siding with him."

"Great so you want to stop too, that just leaves Legolas…"

"I don't _want_ to stop, I just don't mind if we do."

"What ever it still leave Legolas whatever you say, so…"

The elf had been very quiet, as usual, now he seemed barely to notice he had even been addressed until Millie nudged him, "Oh, sorry, yes um we probably should stop, sleep, eat and such."

"Are you Ok Legolas?" Emma asked, genuinely worried for the elf.

"Of course, I was just…thinking."

"Oh."

What Legolas had been thinking about was Millie. He was worried about her newly developing powers for one thing. He was also trying to decide how he felt about the girl who was so strange to him-strange but lovely. Most of the women he knew were dull in comparison, but there was still so little he knew about the girl.

* * *

When they finally did find a place to stop and had eaten some of the small supply of food they had brought with them, Millie and Emma ended up talking:

"Do ya think we'll ever get home?" Emma asked.

"Of course." Millie answered with her usual if misguided enthusiasm.

"How?"

"Oh we'll just get rid of the vampires, quest about Middle-Earth for a while, you know just until we're starting to get used to it. Then we'll come across-totally by accident mind-some powerful spell that'll send us straight back where-and when-we came from. We'll eat pizza and chocolate, sing, dance and generally be merry, then realise that we're so used to this place we can't remember any maths-or physics in you're case since you dropped maths."

"As long as we don't die some long and painful death here."

"As if! Some puny vamps couldn't kill us!"

Emma smiled, "Ever the optimist…so if we do go back home-and I get to eat chocolate!-will ya miss Legolas?"

"Huh?"

"I think he'd miss you?"

"What makes you think I wouldn't just take him with me?"

"Where would he stay? Plus an elf on Earth…it'd be worse than us in Middle-Earth, not that it wouldn't be fun, but…"

"Fine he can stay here, I think I could live without him."

"Aww, I thought he was kinda sweet on you."

"If you're gonna start talking about whose 'sweet on' who-very strange phrase by the way-why don't we talk about Neithan?"

"What about, Neithan?"

"What'd he do? You don't sound too happy with him? Do ya need me to sort him out?"

"Do you need an excuse to 'sort him out'? I'm surprised you two haven't killed each other yet, and I thought we were bad!"

"Don't avoid the question."

"It just annoys me how he can be fine and…just fine one minute and then suddenly changes when he remembers what I am."

"What you are?"

"A fucking werewolf. It's not like I asked to be one!"

"I thought you'd quite like being a werewolf."

"So did I, until I became one and people started trying to kill me for it."

"Look, just talk to him, I'm sure he'll be fine with it, when he gets used to it."

"Hmm…hey I thought you didn't like him anyway."

"He's starting to grow on me, but couldn't you have taught him a slightly better swear than 'bugger', it annoys me."

"I never told him that."

"It sounds like the crappy sort of thing you'd say."

"Well it isn't, I only really say fuck and shit."

"And then only once every blue moon."

"Piss of Millie."

"So anyway, if you didn't tell him that, where the hell did he get it from? I never said it!"

"Well I don't think anyone in Middle-Earth would say it, as far as I know."

"Well as you're the expert in such things I'll agree with you. Which still begs the question of where it came from. And that's not the only strange thing about him."

"Hmm?"

"Well like how does he know so much about these vamps, and he knew about werewolves and things too."

"Add that to his totally unMiddle-Earthian vocab and the fact that he can fight like…well just fight very well and yet is only a stable hand…and there's definitely something strange about him."

Millie nodded, "Maybe you should talk to him…"

"What?"

"Just see what you can find out about him, where he's from, how he learnt to fight and where the hell those swords come from."

"Where the swords come from?"

"Yeah, I quite like them." Millie grinned.

"Why me?"

"'Cos he _likes_ you."

"But I don't know what to say to him?"

"Say 'hello I think you're an evil bastard' for all I care, just go find out if he is."

"If he is what?"

"An evil bastard. Oh and if he is…I want his swords!"

Emma sat down next to Neithan, she suddenly felt very hot and didn't at all want to speak with him, but Millie was very good at convincing people to do things.

"Um…look I'm sorry about being such a git earlier."

"You were in a really bad mood, it's not you're fault." Neithan replied easily, "And, I'm probably more than a little to blame for that." He continued a little less easily, "Sorry."

"Look I can't help what I am, I'm not usually a werewolf you know, I'm normally quite dull."

"I like dull." Neithan replied with a smile he hoped the girl could see through the darkness even though he still couldn't really see her. "I'm not exactly the most exciting person in the world my self."

"But you can fight like…well like someone who can fight…very well, you know?"

Neithan laughed making Emma frown though he didn't know it in the darkness, "Thanx."

Emma tried to remember any of what Millie had told her, what was she supposed to be finding out? Did it even matter? "Um, where did you learn to fight by the way, it doesn't really seem the sort of thing a stable hand would learn."

"Oh…around."

Very suspicious…but not very informative. "Millie said you know something about werewolves?"

"Only, you know, the basic things…wolf bite, full moon etc. why?"

"Oh…um, I'm just generally curious." _And want to know if you're an evil bastard…_ she added silently. How was she supposed to find out anything from him! "Do you now anything about this guy the vamps follow?"

"What Radhnor(do you know how long it took me to find this name? Ok so only three minutes, but it seemed a lot longer than that!) He's a sorcerer of some kind I think, the vamps are under his thrall. Why? I have no idea. And I have no idea what he wants to do with them."

"Do with them?"

"Well he must have brought them here for some reason."

"Brought them here?"

"Well they're not from Middle-Earth are they?"

"I guess not. So where are they from?"

"Did you have vamps wherever you came from?"

"What makes you think I'm not from Middle-Earth?"

Neithan laughed again, "It's kinda obvious, the rest of the council may be fooled into believing you're from some lost village somewhere but even Legolas can guess you're not from this world."

"Atan thought the Valar had sent us."

"He would, very religious, if you can call it religion. Did they?"

"Did who what?"

"Did the Valar send you?"

"I don't know, we certainly weren't expecting to end up here."

"Are there vampires where you come from?"

"Not real ones, there's books of them, but then there's books of this place so that doesn't mean that they don't exist somewhere. So you think this Radhnor guy used some magic to suck vamps out of some parallel dimension and drop them off here?"

"Something like that, and maybe, somehow, that weakened the walls between realities and you and your friend ended up here as well."

"Maybe. So how would we get back?"

Neithan paused for a moment as if thinking about that, or maybe just about the fact that she would be going home. "I 'spose you should be able to reverse the spell Radhnor used, send the vamps back, and you too…maybe."

"Maybe, or maybe we'd end up with them in whatever world they come from."

"If we knew how the vamps got here it might be easier to work out how to send them…and you back. At least we wouldn't have to kill them all!"

"There is that, so even if me and Millie end up in a world ruled by vamps, we'll at least know this place is safe…great comfort."

"It's not all that bad."

"What isn't?"

"Huh?"

"What isn't that bad?"

"Um…I mean you probably won't end up in a world ruled by vamps." The boy answered unconvincingly.

"Sure."

"Plus we have to get to Radhnor without being killed or…"

"Vampified?"

"Something like that."

"I guess, you know I always wanted to see Middle-Earth, now I think I'd rather have stayed at home."

"Has it really been that bad?"

"Oh between finding out I'm a werewolf, getting attacked by God knows what and generally being pissed off at everyone…oh not that bad at all!"

"There's been nothing you'd miss?"

"Oh some things…archery's cool, and the horses and…"

"Yes?"

Instead of answering she touched her lips gently to his feeling a little self-conscious as he took her in his arms again.


	11. ding dong the witch is dead, what witch?

"Did you find anything out?" Millie asked the next day (If it was day) as they wandered further into the mine.

"Well…"

"What…you spend half the night with your tongue down the guy's throat and you still don't know anything more about him!"

"I did not spend half the night with my tongue anywhere near his throat!"

"No you're right, it was probably more than half the night."

"Fine, if you're gonna be like that I won't tell you anything."

"I thought we had already decided that you hadn't found anything out."

"I never said that."

"So what did you find out, other than how good a kisser he is…"

"Very good." Emma replied with a gin.

"I did say other than how good a kisser he is."

"Well…."

"Exactly," Millie sighed, "Do I have to do everything myself?"

"Yup." Emma replied despondently as Millie moved purposefully towards Neithan.

"Neithan," Millie began in her sweetest voice, "I have a few questions to ask you and I want straight answers and no lies, ok?"

"Millie is this really…" Emma began.

"Yes."

Neithan merely looked bemused, "Ok...what?"

"We…"

"You."

"_WE_ want to know why you've been acting so suspicious, how you randomly know so much about vamps, werewolves etc. where you learnt to fight and where the hell your swords come from."

"Oh."

"Oh, is that all...?" Millie nodded. "Oh."

"Well…" There was silence for several seconds as Neithan attempted to find some way of answering the questions whilst still appearing mysterious (and more than a little suspicious). He had just opened his mouth to answer when-much to Millie's annoyance-Emma shushed him into silence.

"Emma?"

"Shhhh." The girl silenced Millie as well.

"What the hell is it?"

"Can't you hear it?"

"Hear what Emma, I'm trying to hear Neithan explain…everything, suspicious bastard."

"Will you shut up for five minutes and listen!"

Silence fell again as Millie reluctantly-and more than a little peeved-tried to hear anything but her seething annoyance. "Wait…what's that?"

"What's what?" Neithan asked unable to hear anything with his feeble human senses.

"Shhhh!" Millie hissed irritably, "I think it might be vamps!"

"And there you would be right."

"Shit!" Amber eyes twinkled in the darkness. There were a lot of them!

"Bugger!" "A Eru!" and "Fuck!" Soon joined Emma's swear as the others noticed the gathering vamps.

"The master has left you alive long enough, now it's time to die!"

"Are you sure you wouldn't like to reconsider?" Emma asked more than a little fearfully.

"I'm gonna tear you limb from limb!"

"Really?" Millie asked sounding far more confident than Emma, "You know you could just roll about on the floor gagging."

"?" The vampire looked confused for about two seconds, then Millie punched it. There was an audible crack as something in the creature's neck broke. Then it fell to the floor gagging.

"Was that a quote Millie?"

"How ever did you guess? Borrowed from Angel."

"Cool."

Then the other vampires attacked.

There followed several minutes of total confusion as our heroes (for those of you who haven't guessed that's Emma, Millie and their respective guys.) fought the deadly vampires. Millie had forgotten everything the elven prince had taught her and was thrashing wildly with her blade, which, being of elven craft, could cut through practically anything it touched. This left many of the vampires screaming for lost limbs long before their heads followed sending them to a dust filled death.

Millie was still thrashing wildly when Legolas-risking decapitation-placed calming hands on her shoulders, "Millie, I think they've gone."

"Those that are alive anyway." Neithan commented.

"Ow!" Millie muttered noticing for the first time a wound on her arm.

"Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, it's just a scratch."

"Let me take a look." Legolas said gently as he quickly examined the wound before deciding that it was indeed merely a scratch. He bandaged it anyway before turning to see if the others required his aid.

Neithan had a few minor cuts and scratches that he refused to have seen to.

Emma…Emma was gone. "Where's Emma?"

"Emma! Emma!" Millie yelled.

"Emma!" Neithan joined in.

"Shut up!" Legolas hissed. "We are still in the middle of a vampire nest remember and we don't want to draw them all to us!"

"The bloody vamps already know we're here, I'm trying to find Emma!" Millie replied with more than a hint of anxiety for her missing friend.

"Where the hell is she?" Neithan asked almost frantic with worry.

"Neithan; calm down, Millie; shut up!" Legolas said quickly taking charge.

"Fine Legolas, so where's Emma?" Millie asked trying to calm down a little.

"I think the vampires have her."

"Bugger."

"Neithan, calm down." Legolas repeated, "What do you think they will do to her?"

"Use her against us if they can. Probably try to turn her into a creature like them. We can't let that happen!"

"No shit Sherlock." Millie replied without a trace of humour.

"If we move quickly we may be able to find Emma before they have a chance to change her." Legolas said somehow remaining calm amidst the anxiety for Emma.

"Right, let's go then." Millie said taking the lead.

* * *

"Beauty, we meet again. " The voice floated down out of the darkness that was suddenly filled with gleaming light, blinding after the phosphorescence of the tunnels. When her eyes had finally adapted to the brightness Millie was able to see the extremely gorgeous-but more than slightly annoying-vampire stood on a raised platform across the cavern they had just entered. Between her and him ranged the largest mass of vampires the girl had ever seen, (except maybe once on Buffy.)

"You have an admirer." Neithan commented with a grin.

"Shut up and start worrying about your own admirer!" Millie retaliated.

"I already am." The boy replied all humour leaving his voice.

"Are you talking about this one Beauty?" The vampire asked with a charming grin as two rather large vampires dragged a struggling Emma towards their leader, "A little on the thin side if you ask me, but not wholly undesirable. She'll make a nice _little_ snack."

"Millie!"

"Emma! Are you alright?" Millie asked a little pointlessly considering the enormity of her friends position.

"I'm Ok-ish. Ow!" Emma squeaked as one of the vampires twisted her arm a bit roughly.

"Let her go!" Neithan yelled.

"Let me think about that…no." With that the vampire waved away his lackeys and took the girl in his arms. With a wave of his hand and, Millie assumed, a touch of mind control he tilted Emma's head back, exposing her throat. The girl stood limply in his arms, unable to do anything. "Say good-bye to your friend Beauty."

"No!" Neithan yelled charging suicidally in the sea of vampires with the vain hope of saving Emma. Over the vamps' heads he could just make out the figure of their leader lowering his mouth over Emma's unprotected neck.

Millie followed Neithan's lead with Legolas half a pace behind, "Fuck off you mother fucking, cock sucking, bastard!"

The vampire ignored their futile antics as his minions closed in around them leaving no way forward and blocking their escape. His needle fine fangs brushed against Emma's smooth skin. Suddenly the girl began to giggle. That made the vampire stop. Millie and Neithan froze sending questioning glances back at Legolas who shrugged whilst the other vampires looked worriedly up at their leader.

Emma stopped giggling as suddenly as she had started. She wasn't limp anymore, her knee connected with the vampire's groin and he collapsed silently to the ground. "I always wanted to do that…again."

"Emma!"

"Well the first time it was an accident!"

"Emma, vampires!"

"Oh."

The other vampires charged, carefully separating Millie, Neithan and Legolas and cornering the apparently powerless Emma. Their leader however seemed to have disappeared.

Emma quickly became bored of being defenceless. She dived at the nearest vampire and as it turned to bury its fangs in her neck she turned to tear out its throat with her own. Silky grey fur spread down her back as she yet again took on wolven form.

Millie on the other hand was forced to rely on her swordsman-or swordswoman-ship. Slashing wildly at any vampire stupid enough to come within range she soon realised that she was being forced slowly away from her friends towards the outer edge of the cavern.

_Clever girl Beauty, they are leading you to me._

"Good, then maybe I can kill you!" Millie replied with a little false bravado as she realised that the vampire could read her mind. She could hear him laughing as she turned away from her struggling companions to slice and dice her way through vampires whose only wish, now that she was moving in the right direction, was to get out of the way.

_Come on Beauty, I'm waiting._

"Aren't you supposed to say something corny like 'Come to me my pretty'? 'Come on' just sounds a bit uninspiring, don't you think?"

The vampire laughed again and suddenly his lackeys had disappeared entirely leaving Millie a clear view of the hansom, and evil, creature.

_We meet again my dear._

"What no 'Beauty' this time? My name's Millie by the way."

_I like Beauty better._

"I don't."

_Pity. The Master wants you dead you know._

"You mean you're not the Master?" Millie asked in mock surprise.

_He didn't even want to let me change you. the vampire continued ignoring her._

"Well we have one thing in common then," Millie replied, "I don't want to be changed."

_There there Beauty, if you change you won't mind so much when the demon hunter, elf and werewolf die. COME HERE!_

"That won't work on me anymore." Millie replied confidently as she forced herself to stand still.

_No, but this will._ The vampires silently keeping their distance hissed and charged forcing Millie towards the lead vampire and taking her so much by surprise that they managed to take her sword from her without a single one of the being decapitated.

The vampire reached out a deadly pale hand to gently touch the girl's cheek. All fear and anger left her immediately and the crowding vampires backed quickly away from their master. _Shh Beauty, You will soon be one of us, but not like those drones. You will be powerful. You'll like that. You will be my queen and we will rule over this world that has never known our kind. He stepped around the girl, holding her firmly from behind as he lifted her hair away from her neck. I knew from the moment I saw you that you would be my queen. You'll have more power than you could ever dream of. Delicate needle like fangs pierced the skin of her neck and the vampire's lips covered the wound, I'll taste your blood, then you taste mine…then you can taste your friends_.

The vampire's laughter filled her mind almost obscuring the distant sounds of fighting. Even through haze and laughter Millie could tell that her friends were not doing too well, they were losing. She was losing. They would all die if she didn't do something. A witty line and she could kill this bastard and save her friends…if only she could think up a witty phrase…

"The whole big sucky thing." Millie muttered as she remembered her own explanation of what the vampire planned to do. She almost laughed, loss of blood making her light headed, but this wasn't helping her think up a witty phrase. And what else was she supposed to be doing? She couldn't think of anything with this vampire leaching all her strength. She aimed all her psychic energy at the creature holding her, "I can't think of a witty line so you are just gonna have to Die!" With that word the energy was released. The vampire seemed to fly through the air away from her. He screamed, a long drawn out sound that seemed to go on for eternity. Then he died, and Millie blacked out.

* * *

"Ok so what now? The vamps seem to have gone at any rate." Legolas was commenting as Millie came too.

"They've not taken anyone this time have they?" She asked a little hazily as Legolas helped her to sit up.

There was a moment's silence whilst everyone checked that the others were still there.

"Nope, looks like Emma's the only one stupid enough to let herself be taken by vampires."

"Oh, I'm the stupid one, says the girl who almost got herself turned into a vampire…twice!"

"Do you think you two could stop fighting for two minutes!" Neithan asked.

"Nope." Was Millie's quick reply, considering she had nearly died not five minutes earlier, or at least become undead, she was feeling surprisingly good.

Emma on the other hand slipped herself into Neithan's arms with a quick kiss, "So what do we do now?"

"Find Radhnor of course." Legolas replied more than a little jealous of Emma's now easy relationship with Neithan. He helped Millie to her feet knowing that she wouldn't even think about kissing him again. He sighed at the thought. He knew both girls would have to return to wherever it was they were from eventually but in the short time he had known her Legolas had found Millie to be so totally different from anything he knew. So beautiful, so…They were talking again, he had better start listening.

"…then I guess we'll be able to find you a way home." Neithan was saying.

"And you." Emma put in tilting her head back for a better view of the boy.

"OK Neithan," Millie began, her voice showing that her question would not be avoided this time, "Do you feel like answering our…"

"Your"

"_Our_ questions now, if you even need to."

"What do you mean?" Legolas asked.

"Well I already know, or at least assume that Neithan is from the same place as these vampires and I know that he's a demon hunter…"

"You are?" Emma asked, obviously interested.

"Yes."

"Why didn't you tell us?"

"Would you have believed me if I had?"

"I don't know, but Millie might have been a little less suspicious."

"And what would've been the fun in that?" Neithan asked with a grin as he leant down to capture the girl's lips again.

"Great now if you two can keep off of each other for two minutes we might be able to find this Radhnor guy." Millie said a little testily.

Emma looked a little embarrassed but Neithan kissed her again for good measure before turning back to business; "OK so how do you plan on finding him? With all the vamps gone we can't follow them anymore."

"Wait, where did all the vamps go?" Millie asked.

"When you killed their leader they just sorta, died." Emma replied.

"When you destroy a powerful vampire all the drones it created are also destroyed. They rely on their sire's energy or some such thing."

"What about vampires made by vampires made by a vampire you kill?"

"Oh it's only vampire drones that were killed with their sire." Neithan replied as if this were the simplest thing in the world, "And drones can't make more vampires."

"Then who made the dwarfs into vampires?" Legolas asked.

"The vampire leader Millie killed would have brought other normal, powerful vampires through into this world with him. Either he or they could easily make drones of the dwarves."

"And we've killed at least some of them." Emma put in.

"And any that are still alive will be keeping out of our way."

"Exactly." Neithan continued, "But we need to drive them back into my world before they can spread. And…"

"We need to send us back too." Emma concluded for him.

"Right." All the enthusiasm and confidence had gone from the boy's voice.

"But before we can do that we still need to know how to find Radhnor." Millie said drawing Emma and Neithan's gazes away from each other.

"Right." Neithan repeated this time with a little more conviction, "…How?"

"Would now be a good time to mention that I can smell…something…coming from that side passage?" Emma asked.

"What do you smell?" Legolas asked her.

"I donno, something kinda chemical maybe?"

"Like, I don't know, some sort of potion maybe?" Millie asked hopefully, "Some sort of potion that might have been brewed by a powerful wizard after dragging a bunch of vampires out of their world, maybe?"

"There's only one way to find out…"

"Let's go!" Millie said suddenly full of enthusiasm again.


End file.
